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C. D. JOHNS 



T E N N rs S E E ' S 

p;OND OF LIQUOR 

AND 

POOL OF BLOOD 



A COMPLETE AND DETAILED 

ACCOUNT OF OUR SHAMELESS 

CONDITION IN TENNESSEE 



THE CAUSE AND THE REMEDY 



BY 

C. D. JOHNS 

Ex-SherifF, Davidson Co., Tennessee 



C. D. JOHNS & CO. 

PUBLISHERS 
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE 



If 



n 






Copyright, 1912 

BY 

C, D. JOHNS 



gCI.A327233 



PREFACE 



To have the ability to write a book is a great and grand 
gift, something that but few possess, and to write a real 
book is something that few have done. Those who have 
written books, and who are worthy to be called author, 
are and have been scholars and devoted their entire lives 
to the task. 

Aside from authors of great masterpieces of literature 
that will forever thrill the minds and hearts of the great 
A^merican people, Tennessee has given to the world's 
history statesmen, patriots, soldiers, orators, heroes and 
martyrs. Some of these are: John Sevier, one of the 
heroes of the King's Mountain, Father of Tennessee and 
the first governor of the grand old Volunteer State; 
James Robertson, founder of Nashville, the capital city 
of Tennessee; Andrew Jackson, hero of New Orleans 
and the nation, and one of the greatest presidents the 
United States has ever had; John Bell, United States 
senator, cabinet officer and candidate for vice-president in 
i860; Felix Grundy, United States senator, orator and 
cabinet officer; James K. Polk, president of the United 
States; Bedford Forest, great military leader; Sam Davis, 
hero and martyr ; William B. Bate, hero of the Civil War, 
governor and United States senator ; Edward Ward Car- 
mack, United States senator, statesman, orator and 
martyr. 

There are many others who will ever live in the minds 
of Tennesseeans not only for what they have done in 
building this great commonwealth, but for the part they 
have taken in the nation's construction and the forming 

5 



6 Preface 

and governing of neighboring and distant states. There 
is not a state in the Union that has not profited by the 
valor and guiding hand of a native Tennesseean. 

When our faith in man's manhood, friendship, honor 
and truth is assailed and wavers, then the life's example 
of such distinguished statesmen, heroes and martyrs 
stand preeminently before us and remind us that there 
are characters that are incorruptible, honesty that is un- 
assailable, friendship that is undying and patriotism that 
will sacrifice human blood. 

To the above class the writer of this book lays no claim. 
He is neither a scholar, author, statesman, hero, soldier, 
martyr or orator — not even a politician — but just one of 
the plain, common people, who loves and feasts on plain, 
common facts stripped of all useless verbiage and pre- 
tense. 

I have been looking, listening and longing for someone 
amply equipped to write a book and whose name as its 
author would be a guarantee to a wide circulation — a 
man who would throw down the gauntlet, stand out in 
the open, write up the true situation in Tennessee and 
ask the people what they were going to do about it. 
None seemed willing to deal with the facts as they are, 
though all frankly admit there is something radically 
wrong in Tennessee. 

This "something radically wrong" pervades the whole 
state; it fills the home within; it is like the plague of- 
darkness that rested on the land of Egypt; it veils the 
political horizon from border to border; it obscures the 
cheerful light of the domestic fire ; it darkens faces which 
have never known before the shadow of an abiding sor- 
row, and if it does not fill the people's minds with appre- 
hension, it disturbs and distracts them. It is the word on 
every lip and the thought in every mind, this "something 



Preface 7 

wrong/* It is here. I see nothing better to do than to 
deal with it at once and deal with it frankly. 

Without waiting longer for someone else to speak out 
and with unvarnished facts deal with the deplorable con- 
ditions in Tennessee, I shall proceed to do so myself. 

My reason for writing this book is this: I know 
enough about conditions in Tennessee to fill a book, and I 
sincerely hope that when these pages have been read it 
will be a universal verdict that at least one wedge has 
been driven towards bringing about a better condition in 
my own loved state. 

To the individual possessed of an extremely sensitive 
mind and who cannot stand plain talk, my advice is to 
close this book now. My apology for this is, I can write 
only as I talk, and I talk plainly. 

Please remember this : I am subservient to no man or 
set of men ; I represent no political party or faction of a 
party; I am candidate for no office. Never again will I 
ask for any office within the gift of the people, united 
or separated. I, and I alone, am responsible for what I 
state, and I know what I am talking about and mean 
what I say. All I have written has been done with a 
heart full of love and anxiety for my native state and 
with malice to no one, even though I call names in con- 
nection with dark deeds. 

NOTE. — In getting together the material for this book I ran 
across information and facts regarding corruption in Tennessee 
that I had not dreamed of, and found it impossible to embody it in 
one volume, both for the reason of its length and the time it would 
take to prepare it for publication. This does not only concern 
public officeholders in the state, but is pertaining to the rottenness 
of the big corporations in the state and their high-handed method 
of robbery. Not being able to include this in the present book, I 
have decided to soon publish another, in which I shall completely 
expose these methods and the names of the parties who practice 
them. 



INTRODUCTORY 



"Of writing books there is no end." I have therefore 
stepped into the arena and in authors' phraseology, "have 
tried to supply a long felt want." To do so, it was neces- 
sary to preempt a field but sparsely occupied, if at all, 
that is, that the data shall be a compilement of "truth, the 
whole truth and nothing but the truth,'' without respect 
to person or caste, my book will relate to Tennessee and 
her principal cities, more especially to her Capital City, 
to some extent ; but as I shall endeavor to fix blame where 
blame belongs, for the deplorable conditions which now 
exist, I must needs deal more with people than things. 
While maintaining a sentiment of lasting veneration for 
my native State and regarding her Capital — which is my 
native home — as "no mean city," strict adherence de- 
mands that I express the contempt which I feel for the 
bulk of the crowd that's running it. It is an old and 
trite saying, that only the "hit dog howls." If I hear no 
howls, I shall feel that my mission has failed. I will also 
appropriate another saying, that is, "if the shoe doesn't fit, 
don't wear it," and if I see no one limping, I shall be dis- 
appointed. It is also claimed in Holy Writ, that faithful 
discharge of duty must bring persecution and I shall feel 
that I have been remiss unless I induce a very liberal 
condemnation. 

The many industrial organizations are giving the public 
a world of information, touching what God did for 
Nashville, when he used to stop off here, and what nature, 
philanthropy and enterprising good citizens are still doing. 
It requires no philosopher to tell these things, while her 

9 



10 Introductory 

magnificent architectural structures, the object of which 
is to disseminate the principles of religion, morality, edu- 
cation and benevolence — invite the admiration of the 
civilized world. They tell of the rich and the great and 
of their many wonderful achievements, still "the half has 
never yet been told" and it is my purpose in this book, to 
tell — at least — a part of that to show the other side of the 
picture, to raise the black veil and to expose to view the 
dangers that lie hidden beneath. Were I permitted a 
choice, I would not say disagreeable things, or utter 
harsh words, but I have been unable to find 'mongst the 
lexicographers nice words that will express my aversion 
to unlawful and vicious acts. 

When I undertake to tell how the grand old Volunteer, 
more especially her chief cities, and most especially her 
Capital City, are held in the relentless grip of a vicious 
oligarchy (as an octopus holds its victim with its power- 
ful tentacles), who are not capable of feeling contempt 
for the courts they create, which are a stench in the nos- 
trils of decency, how that vice and crime hold high car- 
nival under the very eaves of the Temple of justice, how 
that the laws of the State are annulled, repudiated and 
trampled under foot by the puppets they have placed in 
authority, and anarchy reigns supreme and unrebuked, 
even sanctioned by the suffrage of men of prestige and 
have influence in the commercial world, many of whom 
are high officials in the ecclesiastical world. I must admit 
that my vocabulary of nice words is wholly inadequate to 
express my disgust and contempt and I must resort to 
language — sometimes more in keeping with the merits of 
my subject. When the late Sam P. Jones was at one 
time charged with preaching vulgar sermons he answered, 
"give me a decent crowd and I'll preach them a decent 
sermon." Reader, I leave you to make the application. 



Introductory 11 

With this introduction, I launch my ship on the sea of 
public opinion, feeling that it will meet the endorsement 
of the majority of right thinking citizens, and indulging 
the hope that it will accomplish the mission whereunto 
it is sent, by arousing into activity the dormant spirit of 
the brave yeomanry of Tennessee, who in emulation of 
their great and illustrious prototype — the immortal old 
Hickory — will arise in their might and by the power of 
their ballots declare "by the Eternal" our country shall 
be free ! 



TENNESSEE'S POND OF LIQUOR 
AND POOL OF BLOOD 



MY LIFE AS A BOY AND SOME LATER EVENTS. 

I was born in Montgomery County, Tenn., near Clarks- 
ville. 

I only remember having seen my father but once, and 
that was after he was dead and prepared for burial. I 
was so small at the time I could not now recall that sight 
of him had I not been frightened and excited at the people 
who filed silently in and out. 

I was awed by the quietness of things, and when I was 
held up for a look in the coffin at the white face I can 
now so vividly see, I seemed to understand why it was 
necessary for everything to be so still and solemn. 

I shall never forget that moment — the sobs of my 
mother as she held her four small children in one loving 
embrace, praying God for strength to provide for them. 

Somehow I had not gotten father into my childish 
mind, but mother I seemed to know from the very day of 
my coming into the world. I was touched by her sorrow, 
and' the sympathy in my heart for her she never knew. 
She probably thought I was too young to feel the pangs 
of sorrow, but when mother suffered I suffered with her. 

There were four of we children — three boys and a girl. 
My father was poor, the result of drinking whisky. Our 
home was a log cabin, with more than the usual number 
of cracks. Weioved mother for her goodness. We for- 
got our poverty and our wants in our adoration of her. 



14 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

With her purity and sweetness she seemed to draw and 
hold us to her. She taught school, did quilting, washing 
and ironing to support us. 

In those days it was customary (and a barbarous cus- 
tom it was) to bind children out to whomsoever needed 
help so tender in field or factory. Children with cruel 
parents were given into the hands of heartless taskmasters 
and their bodies and minds stunted by the labors they 
were compelled to perform, that their shiftless elders 
might have the pittance these little sufferers were able to 
earn. Had it not been for that and other inhuman sys- 
tems (thank God they have all been abolished by the 
progress of civilization) this great and glorious nation of 
ours would be even further advanced than it is today. 
Binding children out for a term of months or years was 
a practice born of the rankest despotism, and it is almost 
unbelievable that it could have been tolerated in this 
country one day after independence was obtained. 

Up until the last few years the child has been neglected 
in the world. With a few exceptions, it has been left 
overlooked and trampled upon as a thing of no conse- 
quence. No one seemed to think of the child as a tender 
slip that should be taken care of and cultivated that 
better and purer fruit might be gathered from the full- 
grown plant. It is different now. The child is, at the 
present time, considered the most valuable of the world's 
products. Children are being watched and taken care of 
physically and morally, and nobody complains at the cost. 
They are the future upon which we build our hopes and 
it is gratifying to see them grow into valuable men and 
women. 

I have wandered a bit from what I began to tell, but 
when I say that I am a great lover of children, nov/ being 
the father of four of the finest, I am sure you will pardon 



AND Pool of Blood 16 

me for stepping aside and dwelling upon one of my pet 
subjects. 

As I said, when I was a child the binding out of chil- 
dren to shopkeepers, manufacturers and farmers obtained. 
When my mother's boys began to reach the age where 
they could run around and do light tasks, she was fre- 
quently advised by wiseacres of the neighborhood to bind 
us out. Although she was poor, and she and her little 
ones had no bread (and frequently we had none) other 
than that she was able to earn with her tired and withered 
hands, she had this to say in reply to all such suggestions : 

"Before I would let my children leave me to become 
slaves, as they would under the contract that has to be 
given in such cases, I would work my fingers off to my 
hands and my hands off to my wrists. No, I will not 
hear to it, and as long as I am able to stand I shall battle 
for my babies and try to raise them to be good citizens.'^ 

That is the kind of a mother I had. That is the kind 
of a mother who mapped out the path for me to follow, 
and would I not be the meanest creature that walks the 
earth if I should depart one bit from her noble teachings, 
after she labored and suffered for me as she did ? 

Had it not been for whisky this good woman would 
have lived in comfort, but, as it was, she lived in misery, 
and through it all she never forgot her duty to her chil- 
dren and her God. I promised her over and over again 
(for, like all mothers who want to impress a thing on the 
minds of their children, she took advantage of every 
occasion to repeat her command) that when I became 
a man I would make an uncompromising war on whisky 
and all its accompanying vices. When I think of what 
she suffered and my promise to her it gives me more 
strength for the battle. 

I remember the long winter nights how all of us slept 



16 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

in one bed, while snow was blown through the cracks in 
the Httle cabin we called home, covering the quilts with a 
sheet of white. We children didn't understand this, and 
to us it was fun, and with laughter and glee we would 
reach out, scrape it up with our tiny hands, and rub it 
in one another's faces. We couldn't see why mother 
would lie there and cry with such a fine snow covering 
everything inside and out. We felt favored above other 
children — the snow would come right into our house to 
us. This was in our childish innocence that we looked at 
the matter in this light, but when we grew older more 
serious thoughts crowded our minds and we began to 
realize more and more the condition of things and what 
mother was enduring for us. We began to look at things 
differently and wish we could do something to lighten the 
burden of that poor soul who had so bravely shouldered 
the responsibility of protecting and providing for us, even 
at the cost of her life. 

Johnnie, my elder brother, had just turned fourteen, 
when he began to look about for some means of earning 
money that he might, as best he could, assist mother in 
feeding and clothing the rest of the children. 

In spite of mother's battle (and I do not see how she 
did as well as she did, poor soul) we often went hungry, 
and Johnnie felt that he should now do something towards 
helping. I remember how mother was pained when he 
said he was going to leave home and see what he could 
find to do. He was still a baby in her mind, and when 
he offered to take on his shoulders the duties of a man, 
mother was overcome with emotion, and, after much en- 
treaty and persuasion on his part, she consented, but 
would not agree to let him go so far that she could not 
see him occasionally. 

He and mother began to inquire about the neighbor- 



AND Pool of Blood 17 

hood for an opening for him. It so happened that a 
farmer, a Mr. Grant, living fifteen miles away, and who 
needed an extra boy on his place, heard that brother was 
looking for employment and came to our home in search 
of him. It was agreed that brother should go to work 
on his farm, his compensation being three dollars per 
month, including board, with the privilege of visiting his 
home once every thirty days, the mode of travel to be 
the back of a mule. 

The trips home were always made on Saturday, giving 
him until Sunday afternoon with us, at which time he 
would start again for the farm. I remember how eagerly 
and expectantly we looked forward to those cherished 
monthly visits of our dear brother, and mother was as 
happy over the prospect as any of we children. We knew 
the Saturday he was to come, and as the afternoon of this 
much wished for day advanced we gathered at the little 
gate, and, with straining eyes, looked far down the road 
to the bend where he would first appear. He always ex- 
pected to see us there, and, as he first came into view, we 
could see him begin kicking the old mule in the flanks to 
urge him to greater speed, while, with his hat waving as 
high as his little right arm could hold it, he came on as 
fast as the old animal was capable of traveling. 

At this moment mother would break down and weep 
for joy, while we children, unable to longer watch his 
approach without actually taking some part in it, would 
break away like so many Indians and race wildly toward 
him. As he would near us he would rein the old mule in 
and dismount among us. With one rush we would be in 
his arms„ while the honest old animal that had brought 
him to us would stand there and look as if wondering 
what it was all about. The glad greetings over, he would 
lift each one of us to a position on the mule's back, and 

2 



18 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

himself walking and leading the animal, we would begin 
to cover the distance from there to the house. This was 
great sport for us, and with our big brother walking 
ahead of us as he was, we would not have exchanged 
places with any of the little princes or princesses of the 
earth. 

As we neared the place where mother was standing 
in happy anticipation of again embracing her dear boy 
and helper, she, too, would be overcome with a desire to 
rush to him, and in an instant she would fly toward him 
with outstretched arms, and when they met there was 
such another hugging and kissing as one rarely sees. As 
we children sat on our high perch and witnessed this 
emotional greeting we rejoiced, for our mother and big 
brother occupied a place in our estimations above the 
world and everything else it contained. 

All was then in readiness for a happy time — brother 
was at home. We forgot, in our joy at his coming, that 
he would have to leave us the next day. We followed 
him to the little stable in the rear of the house, where the 
mule was provided for. This was always considered the 
first duty after his arrival. Then we would go into our 
one-room cabin and gather in front of the old fireplace* 
where mother and brother talked of everything that had 
happened in the past month they knew about. This would 
continue long into the night, and they never finished until 
they had talked of and planned for the future of we chil- 
dren. We listened intently (we stayed up until the last 
moment when brother was there) as these two friends 
told us what they were trying to do for us. 

Brother's coming seemed to help mother so that it was 
another reason for happiness among us on such occasions. 
I remember how he came like a man each time and put 
into mother's hands three silver dollars, his entire month's 



AND Pool of Blood 19 

wages. He never spent a cent for himself, and my mind 
is often filled with thought of the nobleness of this boy. 
He never seemed entirely satisfied until he had turned the 
money over to mother. It made us happy to see it, and 
at that time we could not understand why the tears would 
gather in her precious eyes as she held it in her hand. 
It seemed to us that one with so much money should be 
anything but sad. 

We looked at brother in wonder as he would reach in 
his pocket and from its depths extract such wealth. It 
was inconceivable to our immature minds how one person 
could amass so much in so short a time. On such occa- 
sions brother seemed to be as much affected as mother, 
but his emotion, as I have since thought, must have been 
caused by the happiness that it afforded him to be able 
to assist her, however small. This conclusion was reached 
by me when I began to contribute a small monthly wage, 
some years later, to the modest family treasury. 

As time passed it began to dawn upon me just why 
mother w^ould cry when Johnnie handed over his earn- 
ings. It was because she was grieved at his having to 
work and slave as he did, when he should have been in 
school preparing himself for the future; and also she 
would call to mind the long days he worked and what he 
must have suffered, boy that he was, in the field gathering 
crops and plowing. I can see now the anguish the good 
soul experienced when she dwelt upon this. 

As I said before, we had a good time during Johnnie's 
visits, and when Sunday afternoon arrived, the time for 
his starting back for another month's absence and labor, 
there began to fall upon us a great gloom, and the leave- 
taking was as sorrowful and heartrending as his arrival 
and reception were hilarious. He would go back, and 
each time he left would leave all of us in such a state of 



20 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

sadness that it would be days before we could compose 
ourselves sufficiently to be together without its being 
noticeable. 

We never failed to watch him as far as the straightness 
of the road would permit, and when he paused at the first 
turn for a final wave there was a heaviness in our hearts 
and lumps in our throats, and had it been that this last 
signal of farewell should have been a spoken one, we 
could not have given it utterance. 

That was always an indescribably sad moment, and 
each time we went through it in this way. 

A few months passed and mother determined that, if 
she possibly could, she would arrange to move nearer 
where Johnnie was employed, that we might see him more 
often. About this time Mr. Grant, the man for whom 
Johnnie was working, lost his wife, and, as he had a 
large household and a number of farm hands in his em- 
ploy, mother conceived the idea of applying to him for 
the position of housekeeper. This she accordingly did by 
borrowing a horse and buggy from a kind neighbor and 
driving over to see the gentleman. She succeeded in get- 
ting the place, and we were soon bundled into a wagon 
sent over from his farm for the purpose of transporting 
us, household goods and all, to our new abode.' We soon 
reached this new place of residence and were not long in 
making ourselves at home in the comfortable and, as we 
thought at the time, spacious, log house. It was some 
larger than the one we had just left, and a great deal 
more comfortable. It was situated in a corner of th£ yard 
and a few paces from the family abode of Mr. Grant. 

Mother's duties were onerous, and she was up early 
every morning looking after the household of her em- 
ployer. In addition to his family, there were about 
twenty-five farm hands to be cared for and made com- 
fortable. 



AND Pool of Blood '^1 

I recall vividly how, with my younger brother, Shelby, 
as an accomplice, we would steal into the dining room of 
the "big house," after everybody had eaten, and peer into 
each cup from which the coffee had been drunk in search 
of sugar. Shelby would take one side of the table and I 
the other, and it was considered a breach of established 
courtesy for one to overstep the fixed bounds and operate 
in the territory of the other. We were too honorable, 
and I might add, by way of honest acknowledgment, 
that each of us was too afraid of the known tattling pro- 
clivities of the other to forage anywhere other than in the 
territory allotted by the treaty that had been adopted be- 
tween us. 

In this way we would go from cup to cup, dragging out 
the hidden sweets of each with the spoon always found 
conveniently near. This was repeated three times a day 
and with great stealth. We kept a close watch on the 
enemy as it entered and as it went away. Our time was 
short, and we had to operate with the greatest care and 
speed. As the last horny-handed tiller of the soil emerged 
from the building, we advanced to the door, recon- 
noitered, fearing there might be a lingering enemy, and 
slipped in. 

Our work had been so well planned that from the first 
these invasions were made and spoils secured so quickly 
that one had to be alert to come upon us while in action. 
We became so expert at this that twenty-five large, white 
cups could be relieved of their toothsome contents in what 
is known in modern slang as a "jiffy." 

We felt no more compunction after each of these raids 
than the negro or average white boy experiences after 
having invaded a watermelon patch at the hour of mid- 
night. We felt the same about this as John Trotwood 
Moore's "Old Wash" did at the time he was caught by 



22 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

one of the brothers of the church holding *'Sis' Ca'line's" 
hand, and his wife away on a visit at that. 

"Old Wash" was brought before an especially ap- 
pointed committee to explain, satisfactorily if he could, 
why he had been guilty of such conduct. The brother 
making the startling discovery gave his testimony first, 
and it was most damaging, and when the defendant sub- 
stantiated it in detail it seemed there was no chance for 
him, and that he would have to be dismissed from mem- 
bership among such an apparently immaculate body as a 
man unfit to longer associate with them in religious wor- 
ship. 

When asked if he had anything to say in explanation 
of his conduct, he straightened himself, and, after looking 
each dusky committeeman squarely in the eye until all 
of them felt that something was coming which would not 
be altogether as they wished, he said : 

"Yes, I has dis to say an' dat's all: Dar's only two 
kinds ob folks in dis worl' anyhow, an' dat's de caught 
an' de oncaught." 

Summer passed and winter was near, and we went to 
live at a Mr. Felts' place. This was not far from Mr. 
Grant's, so brother could come often. Mother was house- 
keeper at Mr. Felts' and we lived in a log house in the 
yard the same as we did at the place just left. 

My brother worked hard and his health began to give 
down. This added to mother's already numerous con- 
cerns and worries. It was cold and he was daily expos- 
ing himself to the inclement weather. 

Mother was a close observer, and she noticed his de- 
cline from the start. While she needed his help, she 
wanted him to rest and recuperate, but he felt that he 
must keep at his task. He soon began to feel the strain, 
and one day he came to mother utterly exhausted. She 



AND Pool of Blood '23 

put him to bed and called in Dr. Neville. His diagnosis 
was that Johnnie had contracted a bad case of pneumonia, 
caused by exposure. He grew worse from day to day. 
Mother saw there was no chance for her boy, who had 
been so much help to her and who had given his very 
existence in an effort to assist her in feeding and clothing 
her small children. 

There was no hope, and one dark night when every- 
thing seemed in sympathy with the sad event which was 
transpiring within our humble home, he died. 

I was a small boy, it is true, but the solemnity of that 
occasion will ever remain in my mind. As young as I 
was, my little heart was troubled, and when I saw the last 
gasp for breath of that noble brother, he who had fought 
and battled for us like a man, I could not help feeling 
that he had given his life for those he loved. 

He was carried away, but his memory lingers, and often 
when alone and in silent meditation, with the thoughts of 
this world and the burdens I have been called upon to 
bear in it passing through my troubled and aching brain, 
there comes a peace stealing over me and into my heart, 
and everything appears bright and easier to endure — it is 
the remembrance of Johnnie and his sacrifice, and I 
realize that his labors and trials did not only furnish 
food for the sustenance of our bodies, but that in doing 
so he set a high mark in life for his brothers and sister, 
to the attaining of which my efforts are constantly di- 
rected, and in my battle to emulate that ideal which his 
truthfulness and honesty have indelibly pictured in my 
mind as the greatest any man could wish for, I am 
spurred on by the remembrance of how he lived and died. 

I was going into my ninth year when the sad event 
just related took place. I felt the responsibility keenly 
that rested upon me. Through my whole life I have 



24 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

been blessed with an abundance of self-confidence, and 
when I saw the finger of duty pointing the way to me 
at that early age, I seemed to immediately turn from 
child to man, and it was with more courage than fear 
that I buckled on the armor of my dead brother and 
went into the fight; and many a weary year did I fight 
against obstacles that seemed to me would frighten a 
full-grown man into laying down his weapons and turn- 
ing from the fray. 

Even to-day, in many of our cotton mills and other 
large manufacturing plants, children of tender years are 
slaving long and weary hours, with their little bodies 
wasting away for want of proper rest and nourishment. 
This is another result of selfishness — human brutes sacri- 
ficing human beings for their own gain. They are not 
only murderers of children, but are robbing the race of 
its future. They are unhung assassins enjoying, the ease 
and freedom of life. 

But this question has been taken up by able writers, 
and I am glad to say that their efforts and their teach- 
ings have shown great results, and that a few more years 
will see child-labor abolished in this and every other 
country. A stringent universal law against child-labor is 
just as essential as a world-wide law against murder. 

But back to the days when I was a slave, not sent out 
by my mother (she would have suffered any hardship to 
have prevented that), but driven out by necessity and a 
determination to do my duty. 

I went to a Mr. Fry in search of employment, and he 
made me this proposition: 

"ril build a log-cabin in my woods-lot and let your 
mother live in it, but you must work for me free of 
charge in return." 

As mother had been wanting to leave where she was 



AND Pool of Blood 25 

then, I thought this a liberal offer. I went home and 
told her about it, and Mr. Fry's offer was accepted, the 
cabin accordingly built, and over we went. 

When I look back now I do not see how I stood up 
under the strain. I was up every morning before day- 
light, with something to do every minute from then until 
dark, my only chance for a rest in the long hours being 
at meal time, and this was limited. The time for this 
was short, and my food was more often bolted than 
eaten as it should be. 

When we first moved to Mr. Fry's place mother 
thought she could get quilting, washing and ironing to 
do in the neighborhood sufficient to buy food, but, after 
going through hardships incident to abject poverty for 
several months, she secured employment at a place ten 
miles away and left, taking with her my brother and 
sister. At the earnest solicitation of Mr. Fry my mother 
left me with him. I could at least earn my board and 
lodging, and, while it broke my heart for her to leave me, 
I kept back the tears and sobs it almost killed me to 
suppress as I told her good-bye, for I knew that by stay- 
ing I would at least not be the burden to her the addi- 
tional expense of keeping me would entail. 

I was constantly on the lookout for a place where I 
could earn some actual money every month. I longed to 
assist mother by being able to hand over to her some 
cash just the same as I had seen my departed brother do. 
As the days and weeks passed this desire strengthened, 
and the determination to fight the battle begun by my 
brother, which took possession of me at the time he was 
taken from us, never left me, but grew stronger every 
day. With the courage that this gave me I never missed 
an opportunity to seek a new place. This I did without 
Mr. Fry having knowledge of it. I knew he would not 



26 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

favor my leaving him, so I decided that when I got ready 
to make my departure I should take French leave. This 
might not have been the honorable thing to do, but I 
felt sure it was the only way to do it without meeting 
strong opposition. I think my reasoning along this line 
was good, and I am sure every boy has at some time 
gotten a license to carry out his heart's desire from just 
such a source. I knew that if I wanted to do a thing and 
there was somebody who would likely object to it, the 
best thing under the sun to do to accomplish my end 
was to do it and have it over before others knew what 
I was about. However, the mere fact of its having been 
done did not mean every time that it was ''over." 

Sometimes when I would set my head to do things I 
wanted to regardless of who might offer objections, the 
consequences of the act were much greater and more 
severe than I had even dreamed of. I always expected a 
small storm or two after each infraction of the rigid 
rules I was forced to live under after leaving my mother, 
but I never did quite picture a cyclone as the possible 
result, and frequently this was the case, and I was put 
under the ban and watched so closely that the oppor- 
tunities to be a real boy were not often afforded me. 

I stayed with Mr. Fry until I grew sick and tired of it. 
I planned often to run away and go back to mother, but 
it seemed I was an age getting, a chance. My brain was 
active along this line and I concocted many schemes, only 
to see them blasted for want of an opportunity to put 
them into practice. Of course I was allowed to visit my 
mother, who lived ten miles away, once a month, but I 
could not take advantage of this because there was the 
mule to take back. What I wanted to do was to get away 
with nothing in my possession to return. I felt, too, that 
it was necessary to run away in order to completely sever 



AND Pool of Blood 27 

my connection with Mr. Fry, and that if I should do this 
my sin against him would be so great he would not want 
me about him again. Whether this was correct or not 
I never knew. It is probable that I flattered myself in 
thinking that I would be missed at all. At any rate, I 
placed that high estimate on myself and this had a great 
deal to do with my actions in turning my back on the 
Fry home. 

One Sunday in the late afternoon I stole from the house 
and walked down the road. My plan was to go slowly 
and carelessly so as to make it appear that the least thing 
in the world I was thinking of was running away. I 
could not help feeling guilty and that every pair of eyes 
in the world w^as looking through me and discerning my 
intention. I kept going, however, walking first from one 
side of the road then to the other, always taking care to 
make my crossings sufficiently diagonal to carry me far- 
ther away with each movement. 

When I had gotten almost to where I intended to make 
a dash for liberty, Walter Fry, a son of my employer, 
and about my age, overtook me. Had I not been con- 
vinced that it would have exposed my intention and 
frustrated my designs for that day and many more to 
come, I would have given him a sound thrashing for tag- 
ging after me. He was friendly to me and we always 
played together on Sunday afternoons, and he had come 
because he wanted to be with me and not to keep an eye 
on my actions. 

Walter had some firecrackers he had gotten the day 
before in town, and he was simply bubbling over with 
talk of them. My mind was filled with sad thoughts, and 
I felt that he would run me crazy with his silly jabbering.. 
That is the way it was that day, but under happier cir- 
cumstances I would have been just as much interested in 
them as he. 



28 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

We then walked on down the road in the direction I 
intended making my flight, and all this time I was schem- 
ing to get rid of him without having to return to the 
house. The afternoon was wearing on, and I knew that 
I barely had time to reach my mother's before dark, 
even with the greatest haste, boy that I was, and walking 
at that. 

An idea struck me and I immediately began to put it 
into execution. 

"Walter," I said, after I had concluded the idea would 
work, "you go back to the house and shoot three fire- 
crackers, one after the other, and before the third one 
explodes I shall be there, starting from where we are 
now when I hear the first one. You must light one, and 
when it fires light another and so on to the third." 

'T don't beheve you can do it," he replied. 

"I'll bet you my hat against yours I can," I added. 

"Well," he said, "I'll take you up. You wait right 
here and don't come nearer until you hear the first one." 

I assured him I would not move toward the house at 
all, and off he went, not knowing how true I would be 
to my promise not to come nearer. 

I have often wondered if the report of those fire- 
crackers ever rang out on the still air of that Sunday 
afternoon. If it did, how long did that boy wait for me 
to come up on a dead run before he decided giving up 
expecting me. He won the bet, but, as I had my hat 
on my head when he left me, the debt was never paid. 

That afternoon when he started to the house I waited 
until he skipped around the first turn in the road, and 
then I did some skipping, myself in an opposite direction. 
I ran as fast and as long as I could, putting as much 
distance as was possible between me and the Fry home 
per minute as I was capable of. 



AND Pool of Blood 29 

I knew a family living half way between the point I 
left and my destination, and, as I had been delayed in 
beginning my trip, and as night was coming on, I asked 
these good people to keep me until the next day. This 
they did, and the next morning I finished my trip home. 
While mother was glad to see me, she disapproved the 
way in which I left Mr. Fry, and said that I must go 
back. She said that he did not deserve such treatment 
at my hands, and that the right thing for me to do would 
be to return. She was determined in this, and she started 
me on my return trip guarded by my sister, who was 
older than I. We had no conveyance, therefore we 
started out walking the ten miles we had to go, hoping to 
catch wagons at intervals on the journey and ride short 
distances in them. 

I remember how downcast I was over the prospect of 
going back to face that boy I had fooled so badly. I 
felt that I would not mind it so much if it were not for 
this. Every objection I had to staying there seemed to 
be nothing compared to this. I had lied to that boy and 
was ashamed to face him. I told sister all about it and 
how I hated to return to that place. We held a confer- 
ence by the roadside and agreed that we would ask every 
man we met for work for me. 

We had gone about a mile before meeting a single per- 
son, when we came upon a Mr. Coke, who lived two 
miles from mother's. We asked him if he could use a 
boy on his place, and when he said he could it was a 
question of who was the happier, sister or I. He told me 
to report at his house at once and go to work. We were 
so elated that we ran every step of the way back home. 
Mother saw us coming, and, in order to spare her any 
fright, I began waving my hat and hallooing, "good news ! 
good news !" and I thought that it was the most impor- 
tant piece of news in the world. 



30 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

It was not necessary to go by home to get to this new 
place. In fact, it was at least a mile farther to go that 
way than direct to his place from where we met him, but 
an eagerness to tell mother of my good fortune impelled 
us to report to her first. It was not long until sister and 
I were oif to Mr. Coke's place. But I was to meet a 
rebuff there and be sent home with a heavy heart. As 
we entered his yard an old woman was seen sitting on 
the porch. We approached her with fear and timidity, 
and when we reached the steps she roughly demanded 
to know what we wanted. I told her I had been sent 
there by Mr. Coke to work. She appeared to be very 
much wrought up over it and ordered us out of the yard, 
saying "We don't want any boys around this place." 

I shall not attempt to describe my feelings. Sister 
and I returned home with never a word between us, but 
when we entered and saw mother we broke down and be- 
gan to cry. There was that same soothing hand again. 
and vAih it she wiped away our tears and our sorrow. 

There was nothing more said after that about my going 
l>ack to Fry's. I was ever alert in search of another 
place, however, and about a week after my return home 
I secured work with a Mr. Brown. He employed me at 
three dollars per month and board. I swelled up at once 
with manly pride — I had at least found where I could earn 
money sufficient to pay mother every month an amoimt 
equal to that brother had been able to give her. 

His farm was not far from where we were then living, 
so I could easily make trips home every Sunday. Pay day 
seemed a long time getting around each month, but after 
many weary days of looking forward to it, it would ar- 
rive. If it should happen to fall in the middle of the 
week, then Sunday would seem an age in rolling around 
so I could get off and take it to mother. 



AND Pool of Blood 31 

I cannot describe my happiness when I mounted the 
old mule and started home with my month's earnings. 
The gaining of milHons now would not fill my heart with 
half the sunshine that crowded into it on these occa- 
sions. 

Ah ! But the great reward I was to receive was wait- 
ing for me at home. I knew that when I reached home 
I would receive something in return for that three dol- 
lars that would be worth more to me than all else in the 
world — the words of praise and caresses mother would 
bestow upon me. 

When I would walk in and hand the money over to 
her she would take me in her lap, and with all her strength 
hold me to her, while her bosom was heaving with sobs, 
and as the hot, precious tears would drop on my face and 
neck, I could hear her murmuring over and over, 
"Mamma's little man, mamma's little man." 

Lives there a man so debased and with a heart so hard 
who would not give all his earthly possessions for just 
one such moment on his mother's knee? I am sure there 
is not, and that there is no man, even though he has 
reached the very depths of depravity, but that is moved to 
higher thoughts when he recalls his mother and her ten- 
derness, and how she prayed and hoped for the best and 
noblest in life for her boy. A man so low in the social 
scale must suffer untold agonies from the pangs of re- 
morse and outraged conscience when he sits down with 
his own thoughts and plainly views the wide gulf which 
stretches between him and the purity of his childhood, 
when his mother's hand was guiding his footsteps and 
her prayers protecting him from the snares of tempta- 
tion. 

A mother's love at the beginning of our lives is the 
one foundation upon which we build to higher things, 



32 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

and down through the long years to the grave the re- 
membrance of it is ever with us, and we cherish it above 
the richest spoils of life's battle. 

After I had been at work at Mr. Brown's a few months, 
mother moved to a Mr. Felts'. This took her fifteen 
miles from me, and my visits to her were not so frequent 
as before, my employer limiting, my calls home to one 
a month. This was hard to bear, but I steeled myself 
to it. 

I was sent to mill once each week. This mill was 
fourteen miles from where I worked and within one mile 
of where mother lived. Half way between Brown's and 
the mill, and one mile off the main road, lived a Mr. 
Trigg, and for this man my brother Shelby, two years 
younger than I, was working, he having begun there 
about the time mother moved. 

Each time I started to the mill I was cautioned not to 
stop and see my brother, and not to, after reaching the 
mill, go to see my mother, although I would be within 
one mile of her with nothing to do for four hours while 
waiting for my grist. My desire to see my mother and 
sister and my brother was more than I cared to over- 
come, and on a few occasions I disobeyed the order given 
me and went to see them. Someone told Brown what I 
had done and I was promptly whipped. 

While with Brown I was treated more like a slave 
than a human being, and one of the bitterest recollections 
of my childhood, as I look back through the vale of 
years, is of this man. He cared not how I suffered ; he 
wanted all the service he could get out of my frail body, 
and many was the day that closed when I seemed almost 
passing away with it. 

I was often too tired to sleep at all until the night was half 
gone, and I would no more than begin to doze, it would 



AND Pool of Blood 33 

seem, when I was roughly called to get up and "feed." 
Feeding the horses and mules was my first daily duty, and 
this had to be done at four o'clock in the morning. From 
then until sundown the grind was incessant and almost 
unbearable. The eating of the morning and midday 
meals did not have the effect of resting it should, because 
of the thought of what was to come and the haste with 
which they were disposed of. All of this to make dollars 
for a man who did not care for the hardships of others. 
This thing kept up month in and month out, and thus I 
slaved until I was fourteen years of age. 

I was ever full of pluck and determination, and that, 
together with my great love for mother, gave me strength, 
without which I would have long since given up the 
struggle as not worth while. 

About this time mother began to fail in health, and the 
blow I thus saw directed toward me was one I could 
not see how I was to bear. She knew she was going 
and tried to keep it from her children. Sister and I 
talked it over secretly when I visited them, but we tried 
to cheer mother by appearing not to notice it. We felt 
that it was best to make her think we did not suffer. We 
knew she did not want us to notice her decline, and while 
in her presence we never even hinted at what we feared. 

You may imagine the ordeal through which I passed 
each month I stayed away. I dreaded what each hour 
would bring to me in the shape of bad news. 

Mother, up to this time, had not been forced to take to 
her bed, but that dread disease, consumption, the direct 
result of exposure and hard work, as I knew, was hourly 
getting in its work of destruction. 

Again the time for another visit home was near, and 
one day when I was on my way to Clarksville with a load 
of tobacco, and was within three miles of town, I was 



34 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

overtaken by a horseman, who, in his rough and uncouth 
way, exclaimed: 

"Hurry home, boy! Your mammy is dying!" 

Upon delivering himself of this sad news, he imme- 
diately wheeled his horse around and started on a gallop 
in the direction from which he came. 

I shall never forget the agonies I suffered in the few 
minutes I stood there trying to decide what to do. There 
I was with a load of tobacco three miles from Clarksville, 
six miles from Brown's and twenty-one miles from my 
dying mother. 

I saw nothing to do but first dispose of my hogshead of 
tobacco, and I accordingly resumed my journey to Clarks- 
ville. After leaving the tobacco at the warehouse I had 
to feed the horses. This consumed over another hour. 
I was afraid to go back without feeding them, as I knew 
it would mean a severe reprimand, if not a beating, to 
fail in this. 

After the horses finished their meal I started out for 
Brown's, nine miles away, as fast as the horses could 
possibly go with a lumbering wagon dragging after them. 
At his place I borrowed a mule and was off at once to 
the bedside of my rapidly sinking mother with fifteen 
long, weary miles to cover before beholding her. In my 
eagerness to reach her I seemed to stand still, while 
tiine flitted by with lightning-like speed. 

At last, late in the day, I reached the house in which 
my mother was. With all my anxiety and hurry to get 
there, I was too late. She never recognized me further 
than pushing a wasted hand over the coverlid toward me 
as I approached the bed. I shall ever believe that she 
knew I had come and with all the strength she had left 
my arrival was acknowledged. I held her hand and 
begged for a word from her, but the power of speech had 



AND Pool of Blood 35 

left her, and, ere many seconds had elapsed, her eyes 
closed in death. 

I shall not dwell on this sorrowful event further than 
to say a short while before my dear mother lost con- 
sciousness she said to a kind-hearted neighbor she saw 
standing near her bed : 

**Col. Locker, I shall soon be dead, and when I am 
gone I want you to look after my three little ones and 
see that they get good homes and are raised as you know 
I would have them be." 

Leaning over the bed and taking her hand, he replied : 
"Mrs. Johns, as a Mason, I shall do everything you ask.'' 

He never forgot his promise, and in after years he did 
the best he could for our welfare. My father was a 
Mason and he felt it his duty to protect us. This, how- 
ever, he was not able to do at first, and as we three chil- 
dren turned from mother's grave it was to separate for a 
long time. 

I was taken back to Brown's, Shelby was carried home 
by another Mr. Brown, brother to the one with whom I 
was living, and Dixie, my sister, went to the home of 
another Mr. Brown, no relation to the other two gentle- 
men by that name. The one who took my sister was a 
kind-hearted man, and the kind treatment accorded her b}- 
his family made me better satisfied v^ith my lot, even 
though it was a hard one. 

The two Browns with whom.Shelby and I were living 
resided on adjoining farms, but, because of som.e family 
disagreement, had not spoken for years. I could see my 
little brother as he toiled in the field of his new home, 
and because of the enmity that existed between the tv.'o 
brothers, we v/ere not allowed to hail or even to speak to 
one another. 

I grew tired of this sort of life and determined to sat- 
isfy the ambition I felt welling up within m.e. 



36 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

Mr. John Shaw, a tender-hearted man and with whom 
I Hved later in Hfe and at the hands of whose angelic 
wife I received much kindness, finding in her a second 
mother, came often to the place where I was then work- 
ing. The first time he came I ran down and opened the 
gate for him to drive through. He was so pleased with 
my attentiveness on this occasion that he gave me a 
quarter. He came frequently after that and each time 
I was given a small, but very welcome coin. Mr. Shaw 
was a buyer of tobacco, and it was in this capacity he 
visited Mr. Brown. 

I saved the money he gave me until I had accumulated 
$1.70. This was too much money to have at one time 
and longer stay where I did not in the least desire to. I 
had a cousin living at Olmstead, Ky., and $1.70 would 
take me there from Clarksville and leave a little change 
in my pocket. 

Long before day one morning, with all of this world's 
goods I possessed wrapped in a quilt which I appropriated 
from my bed, I became a fugitive from injustice. The 
clothes on my back would not have been accepted as col- 
lateral for the purchase price of a penny newspaper. 
They were worn and bagged about my angular form in 
a way as to make me a very comical sight to behold. The 
hat on my head, from constant wear of many months in 
the field, had assumed the shape of a chocolate drop. 

People who were gathered at the Clarksville depot to 
catch the early train laughed at me. With a solemn face 
I impatiently paraded up and down the platform, bearing 
upon my back the pitiful looking bundle held together by 
that odd appearing quilt, while those scattered about 
smiled and chuckled in merriment at the spectacle they 
beheld. I felt hurt at it then, but now I laugh more 
heartily than they did when I call it to mind. 



AND Pool of Blood 37 

I had never been on a train and had to ask a man to 
get my ticket for me. I furnished as much amusement 
on the train as I did on the platform by my ridiculous 
appearance, even the negroes greeting me with loud ha 
ha's when I sought relief in their coach, and when I 
finally reached my destination it was a great relief to me. 

I no sooner reached the home of my cousin than I set 
out looking for work. There seemed to be a dearth of it 
in that particular neighborhood, and I walked many weary 
miles each day in search of it, with the same result at 
night. I was told on all sides I was too small. I knew 
I could equal a man in the field, and all I wanted was a 
trial. I was refused this so many times that I became 
disheartened, when, late one afternoon, I went off by 
myself and sat down by the roadside and cried. I was 
out in the world and friendless, and I knew by what I 
had seen that my cousin and her husband did not want 
me around them. The whole world was then dark, but it 
proved to be the proverbial darkest shadow before dawn 
for me. 

While I was sitting there crying I was startled by a 
noise nearby, and, looking up, I saw standing in front of 
me, all in a row, with unmistakable signs of sweet sym- 
pathy streaming from their pretty eyes, four golden- 
haired children. 

Without any ceremony or even drying my tear-wet 
eyes, I sprang to my feet and addressed to them the one 
question I had asked so many times in the past few days, 
*'Do you know of anyone who wants to hire?" 

Again the same sad answer — the four little heads shook 
at me the "no" with which I had so often been met in 
what I had begun to think a fruitless search. After some 
questioning I learned that the little strangers were chil- 
dren of a Mr. Daniel, whose farm was nearby. I told 



38 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

them my name and where I could be found, and that if 
they heard of anyone who wanted to "hire" to tell them 
about me. Little did I dream then that God had sent 
these sweet little children to be my messengers, and it 
was with many misgivings that I returned to my cousin's 
house for the night. 

I was worried and did not sleep soundly that night, 
and when a brisk knock sounded on the front door before 
day the next morning I was soon wide-awake and listen- 
ing. The door was opened at the summons, and when T 
heard a kindly voice inquire, "Is there a boy here by the 
name of Charlie Johns?" I reached the door in time to 
say "yes" for myself. 

He explained that he was Mr. Daniel and that his chil- 
dren had told him I was looking for work. I was told 
to come over to his house to breakfast, and, although I 
had to dress before starting, when Mr. Daniel entered his 
own yard on his return home, I was assailing his wood- 
pile with an axe, and the earnestness w4th which I was 
wielding it left no doubt in his mind that my intention 
was to do some wood-splitting. He marveled at the 
quickness with which I reached his house, but I was too 
happy to explain to him how I accomplished it. He said 
he would give me work for two days, and after breakfast 
I went out with the other hands to gather corn. 

The next day, just as I emerged from between two 
rows of corn, after having stripped the stalks along my 
path of the hanging ears of grain, I saw a man sitting 
on his horse in the road only a few feet away intently 
watching me. He said he had been watching me come 
through the corn and that my work suited him exactly. 
Thereupon he offered to hire me if I was not engaged for 
any length of time. 

I told him I was to leave there that day and would be 



AND Pool of Blood 39 

glad to come and work for him. He explained that his 
name was Duke, and that he rented from Dr. Russell and 
I might report for duty the following morning. 

Mr. Daniel was very much hurt when I told him I was 
going to leave him, but when he recalled that he said he 
only needed me two days, he said it was his own fault and 
that he could not blame me for accepting the offer under 
the circumstances. He gave me two half dollars for my 
two days' work and, compared to what I had received for 
my services before, I was liberally paid. 

I stayed with Mr. Duke a while and then went to work 
on the farm of John Russell in that vicinity. I made a 
contract with him for the year, and I was to be paid ten 
dollars per month, out of which I paid my board at another 
place. This left me nothing for clothes and a very little 
for pocket change. 

I often wondered in those days if people with money 
expected those with none to go naked, and even now my 
mind has not changed much on this subject. I am still 
wondering it. 

Russell was a hard man to work for. He was heartless 
in his demands of those under him. One hot day he 
rushed me so in the field that I fell exhausted and blood 
began to flow from my nose and mouth. I had fallen in 
my tracks trying to serve a brute who was only giving me 
a pittance as a wage. 

Once I thought I had at last discovered a spark of kind- 
ness in this man's heart, but I afterwards found that it 
was a scheme to gain at my expense. 

As I said before, he was paying me ten dollars a month 
and out of this I was paying board and lodging at 
another place. It was harvest time, and the thresher was 
pounding away in the wheat field. It was customary 
then to pay extra help three dollars per day during har- 



40 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

vest, while the regular hands worked for the sum con- 
tracted for in the beginning. News came that my sister 
was sick, and I told Russell about it. I was struck almost 
speechless by what he said. It was so different to what 
I expected. 

"You must go and see your sister. Stay as long as 
you think necessary and come on back and go to work," 
he said. 

I thanked him for this and felt that he was not such a 
bad man after all. 

I was gone a little more than a week, and when he 
settled with me at the end of the year, he took out of my 
wages three dollars a day for the time I was absent at 
the bedside of my sister, deducting harvest pay from the 
sum due me, when I was only receiving ten dollars per 
month for my services. I was helpless and he robbed me ; 
I was friendless and he took advantage of me. 

In after years, when I made such a hard fight as an 
independent and was elected sheriff of my county, this 
man Russell had the insolence to send me congratula- 
tions. The reply he received from me was assurance 
enough that I did not appreciate remembrance at his 
hands. 

Since that time I have met many John Russells and of 
them I shall speak in this book. 

A few months before leaving Russell's place I was 
earnestly solicited by Mr. John Shaw, the man for whom 
I had opened the gate so many times, and by so doing 
earned money sufficient to leave a hated neighborhood, 
made so by the suffering and death of my dear mother 
in it, to come to his house and live as his son. I readily 
consented to this, and when dragging time terminated my 
contract with a man I was so glad to sever my connection 
with, I took up my abode in the household of this good 



AND Pool of Blood 41 

man and his angelic wife — not as a servant or one hired 
to do farm work, but as their son. They had a boy of 
their own, but they showed no partiaHty between us. 

Mrs. Shaw was a sister of Col. H. M. Doak, Clerk of 
the Federal Court at Nashville. She spared no pains to 
see that I was at home from the moment of my arrival 
among them. I was given a room, the luxury of which 
I had never dreamed of for my lot. At first I was a 
little embarrassed, being transferred in an instant, I might 
say, from poverty and its hardships to ease and its kindest 
treatments. This good woman looked after my physical 
and spiritual well-being, and I felt that she was my 
mother sent to me in another person to again smooth the 
rough places in the path I saw before me. 

Mother's prayer was answered, and her children were 
at last in the hands of kind-hearted and Christian people. 

I was given a comfortable home and was surrounded 
by the purest atmosphere. My environments were such 
as to make me look with renewed hope to those higher 
ideals I often dreamed of when younger, back in the dark 
days of poverty and suffering. 

I looked on Mr. and Mrs. Shaw as new-found parents, 
and they left nothing unturned to assure me that they 
considered me their boy. They could not have been 
kinder to me had I been their own flesh and blood. 

There lived in their house Mr. Shaw's brother and his 
wife, and they, too, were kind to me. They were well 
supplied with this world's goods, and they shared it as 
freely and unselfishly with me as if I had taken part in 
its earning. 

Time came for me to be off to school. I shall never 
forget when I left. I had learned to love these good 
people so I hated to leave them even for a day. 

I was called aside first by one and then another, and 



42 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

each in turn gave me good advice and assured me of true 
friendship. I was very much moved by their kindness, 
and when Mrs. Shaw, my new mother, called me into her 
room after the others had talked with me, I was touched 
so by her sweet assurances of love for me that I could 
not keep back the tears, and this good woman wept with 
me. 

"Charlie," she said, 'Sou are leaving us to go to school 
and I want you to be a good boy. We love you and want 
you to always consider yourself our son. I have but one 
request to make of you, and I know if you never fail to 
comply with that it will be impossible for you to be other 
than a good boy. 

"My one request is that you go every day, just as the 
sun is sinking to rest, to a silent spot and pray for me ; 
at the same time each day I shall pray for you, and both 
of us will be helped by it. Now, will you do this ?" 

I was too full of emotion to tell her I would, but she 
knew her request would never go unheeded. Each after- 
noon, as the sun touched the distant tree tops, diffusing 
the west with its golden glory, I went into secret prayer 
for this good woman I so much adored for her sweetness 
of character, and, as my lips began to move in supplica- 
tion to God to protect and preserve her, I felt that my 
petition was mingling with hers among the delicate rays 
of the sinking orb of light as they penetrated the vast- 
ness of blue on their upward journey to the throne of the 
Creator in mute thankfulness for the splendor of the 
gorgeous body from which they sprang. 

Regardless of what was engaging my attention, I 
dropped everything and went to a suitable spot and 
prayed the prayer I had promised to pray when the ap- 
pointed time arrived. Many times, while engaged in 
playing ball, I have run away to a tree or building, stop- 



AND Pool of Blood 43 

ping the game because of my absence. The boys were 
curious to know at first what was meant by such actions, 
but I never told them, and after a while they ceased 
to ply me with questions regarding this and soon came 
to expect it of me. I felt that my secret was too sacred 
to let out among them, and for that reason I guarded it 
closely. 

LATER EVENTS. 

The Webb School at Bellbuckle, Tenn., was educating 
boys as successfully then as now, and after having gone 
for a session at Adams, Tenn., I decided I could learn 
much more readily under the famous old instructor at 
the former place. 

Mr. Shaw offered to pay all of my expenses at Bell- 
buckle, but this I would not let him do. 

I shall never forget that first day at "Old Sawney's'' 
school, and how we were formed in line to march past 
!iim in his seat of authority, while each of us in turn 
gave his name and the name of his parents, or those 
directly in whose charge we were. 

Prof. Webb has a wonderful memory. When once he 
heard a boy's name he never forgot it, and with the great 
number he had under his charge, he easily remembered 
all their names. 

*'01d Sawney" is still conducting his school at Bell- 
buckle, and every state in the Union owes him a debt of 
gratitude for the good he has done in educating men who 
are now residing within their borders. To be a graduate 
of his school is one of the best recommendations any man 
could have. He has been a credit to his state and his 
nation, and I doubt if there is a country on the face of 
the earth that can make the least claim to civilization in 
Wiiich he is not known as an educator. He understands 



44 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

the boy thoroughly, and if he goes to his school with the 
least bit of gray matter to use as a basis "Old Sawney" 
will build on this and from it construct a brain with which 
the student may have a chance in life's battle. He is an 
old man now, but still active; and the duty God has 
allotted to him does not go unperformed, and while some 
of our great universities are turning out more hair- 
brained ''Cholly boys" than real men, this beloved old in- 
structor is hammering soundness into the heads of young 
men that will make them profitable both to themselves and 
their communities. 

A proper memorial in the shape of a library at the 
Y. M. C. A. of Nashville is being erected to Prof. Webb 
while he is yet alive to appreciate it. This library is being 
paid for by subscriptions taken from the alumni of the 
Webb School, and there is not one of his former students 
who would not give his life, if need be, for "Old Sawney" 
—may he live long to be honored by the people who love 

him. 

After I left the Webb School I went into Cheatham 
County, where I had been appointed teacher in a district 
school, and there, for one session, I disseminated my 
knowledge ( ?) among the sons of yeomen, and whether 
I sowed seeds among them that grew into vigorous 
plants I do not know, but I am sure the efforts I put 
forth to do this should have been rewarded. So far, 
however, I have not been approached by one of my 
former pupils with thanks for any good I might have 

done him. 

I came to Nashville about twenty-one years ago, and 
shortly afterwards began work as a telegraph operator 
for the L. & N. R. R. At the end of several years' 
service with this company I went with the Liberty Mills, 
and was there in the same capacity. 



AND Pool of Blood 45 

While my position at the Liberty Mills paid me about 
two thousand dollars a year, there was no chance of it 
being any better. I was looking to the future, and was 
willing to make any sacrifice to put myself in line for 
the advancement I craved. 

I had been a close observer of Nashville's city govern- 
ment, and especially its police department, and I saw 
nothing there, with a few exceptions, but inefficiency, and 
it was most apparent in the head of that branch of the 
city's administration. I had been watching Police Chief 
Henry Curran, and I saw plainly that he was wholly in- 
adequate. To be honest, I saw that the whole police 
department was inefficiently conducted, and that there 
was a needed change. Later events showed this to be 
a fact, whether it was done or not. 

I severed my connection with the Liberty Mills for the 
purpose of joining the police force of Nashville. To do 
this I accordingly secured a place as patrolman at $75.00 
per month. I want to say that I felt greatly humiliated, 
and it was with much embarrassment that I wore the 
uniform of a Nashville ''cop." I felt degraded, and I 
look back on it now with a blush. Being a policeman is 
down the social scale within itself, but to be counted as 
a member of that body in Nashville is additional reason 
for disgrace. I do not mean to say that every policeman 
is on an equality with his position. There are good men 
serving in this capacity from force of circumstances, and 
there are a few policemen in Nashville who feel the 
degradation that comes from wearing the uniform. I 
know they will back me in the statement just made. 

Gambling houses were running wide open, and saloons 
were dispensing their wares almost as freely on Sundays 
as any other day in the week. The officials whose duty 
it was to stop these practices appeared not to l3e cog- 
nizant of their perpetration. 



46 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

To be plain, I wanted to get in the Nashville police 
service in order to get at things on the inside. When I 
did this my svirmises were more than shown to be cor- 
rect. I found some astonishing conditions there. In- 
stead of the men receiving orders to enforce the law, 
they were commanded not to molest certain men m its 
violation. Onr instructions were mostly "don't" and 

seldom "do." 

I never received my pay that I didn't feel that I was 
not entitled to it. I felt that I was receiving something 
for nothing, and during my entire service of fifteen 
months as ^a policeman, I was never called on by those 
above me to perform that duty which my sense of right 
told me should not go unnoticed. As time passed, this 
became disgusting and almost intolerable. 

Charges began to be openly made against the police 
force by the press and certain citizens. This was done 
without any discrimination, and Mayor T. O. Morris and 
Chief of Police Henry Curran said nothing in defense 
of the force, or any of its members. After giving them 
every chance to do so, I took the matter up myself and 
sent a letter to the press on my own responsibility. It 
was wrong for those policemen who wanted to do then- 
duty to be exposed to such attacks by the action, or m- 
action, of their superiors and delinquent members. 

When my letter appeared in the papers I was forth- 
with hauled up before Mayor Morris and threatened with 
being tried on the charge of insubordination. This gen- 
tleman seemed to think it awful that a little policeman 
would be so bold as to take upon himself that v/hich 
should devolve upon others higher up. I waited upon 
these officials and found them too slow. I am sure now, 
as I was then, that they never would have acted. 

Mavor Morris was very defiant when he first con- 



AND Pool of Blood 47 

fronted me in his office at the City Hall that day. I am 
sure his intention was to frighten me, but when he saw 
that his severity (assumed severity) did not make me 
tremble he began to shake himself. 

I afterwards learned that on the advice of City Attor- 
ney Hill McAllister, Mayor Morris dropped any idea of 
proceeding against me for insubordination. I heard that 
he informed the mayor that instead of his being able to 
sustain such a charge against me, that the whole matter 
would react in showing him and Chief Curran up ip a 
bad light. I was aware that the record of these two 
officials would not stand under the rays of publicity, so 
I was not surprised when told of what the city attorney 
had advised. 

I had been in the position I then held about eleven 
months, and Chief Henry Curran was brought before 
the Board of Police and Fire Commissioners to be tried 
on the charge of inefficiency. The present mayor of 
Nashville, Hilary E. Howse, was a member of that com- 
mittee. Mr. Howse and I were members of the A. P. A. 
at the same time, and, judging by the heated talks he 
made at our gatherings, I was led to believe there was 
no man more in favor of "America for Americans" than 
he. In his arraignment of foreigners, from the Irish to 
the Jews, he was most severe, but when he cast his vote 
in the trial of Henry Curran, *Trish through and through," 
it was to retain him, and again Nashville was afflicted 
with a continuation of Curran's service. And to this good 
day that Pope loving "mick" is at the head of Nashville's 
police department, while there is not a man under him 
who is not better fitted to fill his place. 

While the trial of Curran was in progress I was taken 
sick, and while confined to my bed Mr. Higginbotham, 
then a member of the Nashville Board of Public Works, 



48 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

called at my home. He told me that everything indicated 
the dismissal of Curran and that he was firmly convinced 
in his own mind that I was the one to be appointed to 
fill his place. There being only three on this board, he 
gave me the additional assurance of Capt. Alexander's 
support, as he had heard him say that he would cast his 
vote for me in preference to anyone else. 

Had I gotten in as chief, Nashville would have had a 
much better police department than the one which is 
helping it in its downward course today. It would now 
be made up with good American citizens, and no Roman 
Catholic would have been permitted to disgrace it by 
being on the force. I would have run this department 
to suit the people of Nashville, and not to please that old 
Italian at Rome. There are too many lawless Catholics 
on Nashville's payroll now. This would not be the case 
if we had a few men with a little backbone to look after 

things a bit. 

As I have said in some of my speeches, I was stationed 
out in the jimson weeds, and there, in the lonely hours 
of night, I have walked my beat and pondered. My 
thoughts were ever of Nashville and its people. I saw 
how they were being imposed upon by corrupt officials. 
I turned my thoughts on Sheriff Tom Cartwright and his 
slipshod method of conduct. I knew he was not doing 
his dutv. When I first began to think of this, I did not 
dream of running for his office. I was merely wonder- 
ing why the sheriff did not enforce the law the mayor 
and the chief of police were allowing to be so flagrantly 

violated. • .1, 

It did not take me long to place Cartwright in the 
Morris and Curran list. I saw these men accepting the 
people's money for services not rendered. It was evi- 
dently more profitable not to serve the people than to 



AND Pool of Blood 49 

serve them. I had no proof of this, but I did some good 
'reasoning. My mind was troubled over these things, 
and I longed to put a stop to the wrongs which were 
being perpetrated. 

Dr. Ira Landrith, Regent of Belmont College, invited 
all the policemen near enough to attend to hear him 
preach an especially prepared sermon at Addison Street 
Presbyterian Church. I was anxious to hear this, and 
that night I was there. In the course of his remarks, 
which were mostly directed against lawlessness, he said: 

"I wish some humble policeman would rise up among 
us and make a fight for law and order." 

This inspired me, not to do so myself, but with a 
desire to cast about for a leader, or a man fit to be 
sheriff of Davidson County, and run him against Tom 
Cartwright. I was almost positive that Cartwright's 
record was so rotten that a good man could defeat him. 
Jim Cantrell became the candidate of the Committee of 
One Hundred to oppose him in the Democratic primary, 
but the lawless element stood by their friend and Cart- 
wright was nominated for a third term. 

I did not give up here. I had faith in the people, and 
I knew that a strong independent candidate could win 
against him if Cartwright's record was exposed. I was 
positive this would not bear scrutiny and all that was 
necessary was to turn on the light. It only remained to 
get the man, and for him I began a search in earnest. 

I first called on Dr. Ira Landrith and laid before him 
my plans, fte hooted at it and said it was utterly im- 
possible to defeat a Democratic nominee. A visit to 
Dr. E. E. Folk, I. L. Pendleton, John H. DeWitt and 
J. H. Kirkland, Chancellor of Vanderbilt University, 
and others only resulted in the same thing. Each of 
them expressed himself as thinking such a move would 

4 



50 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

be ridiculous. After these repeated failures to get en- 
couragement from others, I decided to make the race 
myself. 

The first thing I did was to address a letter to Mr. 
Cartwright notifying him of my entrance into the race. 
I furnished the press with a copy of this, and when it 
appeared there was much fun at the expense of "the 
little policeman" who had such an opinion of himself. 
Apparently I was the only man in Nashville at that time 
who took Johns seriously. 

I prepared for the fray, and announced that I would 
open my campaign in the county court house. I am sure 
it was out of curiosity, but there was a great crowd 
there to hear my first gun. I felt honored at any rate. 

To give the reader a better idea of that night's hap- 
penings as related to my first speech, in what proved to 
be a most strenuous campaign, I here give the Nashville 
Banner's report of that aflfair: 

JOHNS MAKES GRAVE CHARGES 
IN OPENING SPEECH IN RACE FOR SHERIFF. 



ATTACK UPON OFFICIALS. 



Says Mayor, Chief of Police and Sheriff Are Working 

in Conjunction. Laws Have Not Been 

Enforced. 



SENSATIONAL ALLEGATIONS. 
There was certainly something doing at the court house 
last night, and those who took in the occasion experienced 
a surprise that can only be less than that coming to those 



AND Pool of Blood 51 

who failed to attend when they learn what happened. 
It had been announced that C. D. Johns, an independent 
candidate for sheriff, would make the opening speech of 
his campaign. Such an announcement would not lead 
an ordinary man to believe that anything unusual would 
take place, and the average man would not look for much 
of a speech from a candidate who had been on the police 
force. But right here is where the public and the large 
crowd who attended the speaking were fooled. Mr. 
Johns is a most excellent speaker, has a good command 
of language, ready wit, a good delivery, impressive man- 
ner, puts enthusiasm in his w^ords and stimulates that 
same feeling in his audience; and further, he made a 
speech that was highly sensational in its nature; one 
that will not fail to cause a ripple wherever it is heard. 

A big crowd of enthusiastic hearers had gathered in 
the Circuit Court room on the third floor. Mr. Johns 
spoke until 9:30 o'clock and when he suggested that he 
was speaking too long the crowd yelled back, "Go on! 
Go on!" Several members of the police force and some 
firemen were on hand and several shook hands with him 
at the close of his speech. Several saloon men were also 
there, as were some of the deputies of the sheriff. 



GAMBLING CAN BE STOPPED. 

Mr. Johns, in the course of his remarks, stated in 
substance that Chief Curran and Sheriff Cartwright were 
friendly to and w^ere controlled by the Sunday saloonist 
and the gambler ; that neither of these had ever enforced 
the laws against such evils and never would. He charged 
further in substance that Mayor Morris was in sympathy 



52 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

with these gentlemen, and he illustrated the attitude of 
the three men by running the fingers of his two hands 
together, dovetailing them. 

"Public gambling can be stopped," said the speaker. 
"This business of winking, however, is no good. I'm not 
mad at the saloonkeeper and the gambler, but I'm clear 
on the other side of the fence, and I'm going to send 
them up Cumberland River on their own platform. I'll 
break up these evils if I can get the co-operation of the 
people. If I'm elected sheriff I'll deliver the goods, and 
if the goods are not taken care of I'll tell the people why. 
I have no compromises to offer. There are none between 
law and order and lawlessness and disorder. I'll get 
along all right with the saloonkeeper if he will only close 
up on Sunday. 

"What has Cartwright done since he has been sheriff 
but sit still and 'saw wood' while the people suffered? 
I'm sorry to say it, but Sheriff Cartwright has sat still 
and done nothing. He's not here tonight, for of course 
he's saying — T'm the nominee and I don't have to recog- 
nize you.' 

"Didn't Cartwright board a man at the Utopia Hotel 
who was charged with embezzlement rather than take 
him to jail? When an honest blacksmith of the Thirteenth 
District had been charged with a heinous crime by a lewd 
woman he slapped him in jail. He made flesh of one and 
fish of the other, and he has been doing that way with 
the people. Sometimes he makes the public think he's 
awful busy. He'll sachet around and raid a lot of nig- 
gers at Flat Rock or in the Thirteenth District. He can't 
find anything up on Cherry Street, however. He'll pass 
right by Jew Sam and Ike Johnson and go find the Black 
Turf. Yes, he'll raid 'em from Cedar Street to Good- 
lettsville. I believe in raiding nigger crap games; I be- 



AND Pool of Blood 53 

lieve in cleaning 'em out of Black Bottom, and the other 
dives, but get them all. Raid the white man first. The 
white man sets the example. Get the white man and then 
go and get Uncle Rastus, who thought it was all right 
because the white man did it." 

The speaker here stated that he had been reliably in- 
formed that the sheriff had chained a gang of negroes 
together at Goodlettsville and made them walk thirteen 
miles to town. He pictured the horrors of gambling, 
told of the homes it was ruining and the mothers and 
wives it had caused to weep. 



YOU KNOW IM RIGHT. 

"You know I'm right," continued Mr. Johns. " ^Tain't 
Cartw right I've got to beat. All I've got to do is to con- 
vince the people that I'll do what I say I will. It's not 
right to pile a third term on top of two others when the 
four years' record of Cartwright for law enforcement 
and order is as black as Egypt, as far as gambling and 
Sunday tippling are concerned. 

'M have entered this race from a moral standpoint. I 
call as my witness the memory of a sainted and departed 
mother, and I declare over the heads of my two children 
that I will enforce the laws if I am elected sheriff, so 
help me God. I can clean out the gambling hells and 
Sunday saloons. I don't believe there is a man here who 
believes that Cartwright has or will enforce the law. 

"It is time to wake up now. I did not work for sixteen 
months on the police force to play 'bad boy' and tell 
what I found out, but if it becomes necessary I'll tell. 
I'm sorry to say it, but I don't believe you have the 



54 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

proper protection you ought to have at the head of the 
Police Department. I can say that I don't beHeve he has 
ever enforced the laws, or ever will, against gambling and 
tipphng. 

"I've been catching rabbits. Fve got to be the most 
expert rabbit catcher you ever saw. I wrote a letter to 
Cartwright. Morris and Curran knew they were in- 
volved. The next evening I jumped my rabbit, and 
Mayor Morris was after him. But, Mr. Mayor, ^that's 
my rabbit, and I'm going to have it.' Letters to the press 
from such men as John DeWitt, Dr. Ira Landrith, Jefi" 
McCarn, Dr. Cave, Dr. Folk and other good men who 
have stood for law enforcement, did no good, but when 
I sent that letter something happened. There was a plan 
laid to take all the blame oflf the sheriff. 

"Some men are so degraded they don't belieft^e me or 
any other man can act from a pure motive. You can't 
do anything, though, unless you go and vote and take up 
the right kind of a man to vote for. You've got no relief 
now at the hands of five men. Were impeachment pro- 
ceedings instituted, the matter could be tied up in court 
for four or five vears. 



NOT AFRAID OF THE GANG. 

"Vm not afraid of the gang. You paid me $75 a 
month, yet under conditions as they were I doubt if I 
was worth 75 cents to the city. The chief never expected 
his men to enforce the law. When the Police Depart- 
ment was scored he did not defend his men. I said I 
was going to defend myself and others, however; that 
we were not all drunkards and grafters as pictured. I 
wrote a card at mv home, without the dictation of anv- 



AND Pool of Blood 55 

one, and it was signed by six men of their own free will 
and accord. It was agreed that if anyone wanted to 
know our names they could be given. 

"The first roll call after its publication we were sum- 
moned to appear before the mayor. The third to be called 
into the august presence, I found myself in a room in 
which was a table at which were seated the mayor and the 
chief, and in another part of the room sat Mr. Stainback, 
of the Board of Public Works. I walked to the table and 
stood before them. The mayor raised his eyes and ran 
a withering look over my blue clothes, and stopped at my 
face, and in tones that unmistakably said, T am Mayor 
Morris and I will eat you up,' demanded, Ts your name 
Johns?' I replied that it was. *Did you write this?' 
waving a clipping of the article in my face. I replied 
that I did. He glowered upon me for a moment and 
then asked: 'Are you in harmony with your chief?' To 
this I replied that I had been called upon to be ques- 
tioned about the card, and would decline to answer irrele- 
vant questions. He arose and, pacing the room for a few 
seconds, asked: 'Do you believe that gambling can be 
stopped?' I declined to answer this upon the same 
ground. I told him if they would hold a public investi- 
gation I would answer all questions, but until that was 
done I should remain silent. It was my purpose from 
the beginning to force an investigation, but they seemed 
to get an inkling of what I was after, and the only result 
of my being called upon the carpet was my being sent to 
admire the scenery of the suburbs. 

LAID THE FOUNDATION. 

"Yes, sir, six policemen laid the foundation for the 
mayor to go at the police department, but he laid down 
on his own foundation. The sheriff and the chief of 



56 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

police and the mayor are working in conjunction. They 
are just that way," said Mr. Johns, running the fingers 
of his two hands together. 

The speaker said he had always been a Democrat and 
had stood for Democratic principles. This, however, 
was no party question, and was not a case wherein the 
party leash should be brought into play to aid a man of 
Cartwright's type and record. He said he knew he 
would be criticized for speaking of those in high position, 
but that this was a free country and his word was as 
much entitled to be heard, insignificant as he was, as 
that of others in high position. 

The speaker was frequently and loudly applauded dur- 
ing his remarks and was the recipient of many congratu- 
lations when he had finished. 

I was not a candidate of the Committee of One Hun- 
dred, composed of Nashville's supposed leaders for law 
enforcement. I represented nobody but myself and my 
conscience on entering this race, and for several weeks 
I battled alone, and, to add to the burden I had 
shouldered, I was forced to wrestle with poverty. As my 
campaign advanced, and the people saw I was sincere, 
contributions began to come in. I spoke at different 
points about the city and had the satisfaction of seeing 
the faces of certain prominent citizens at each of my 
speakings. Numbers of them followed me from point to 
point, and from this I drew much encouragement. 

A prominent merchant appeared at one of my early 
speeches, and from the earnestness of his attention I 
knew he was interested. That night we went home on 
the same car, and he assured me that I was on the right 
line. The next day's mail brought me a check from this 
gentleman for $75.00. He was present at all my speak- 
ings in town after this. 



AND Pool of Blood 57 

I promised the people in this campaign that I would 
stop Sunday selling of whisky, and how well this was 
carried out is a matter of common history, not only in 
Nashville, but all over Tennessee as well. 

After I had fought for some time and showed it was 
possible for an independent to create interest for the 
enforcement of law, those men who had been the loudest 
in their cries for the defeat of a man who officially per- 
mitted lawlessness to exist, but who did not believe there 
was a chance to elect a candidate over him, now began 
a mad race to climb into my wagon. With their assist- 
ance, coming as late as it did, I went on to victory. 

To show the bitterness with which the habitual law 
violator was fighting me, I reproduce the following from 
the Nashville Banner of August 3, 1906, three days 
before the election: 

IRA LANDRITH ON SHERIFF RACE. 



"ADVOCACY OF LAW AND ORDER GOOD 
POLITICS.'-' 



SALOON MEN'S CIRCULAR 



Issued Yesterday Denounces Temperance and Reform 
Sentiment as Dangerous. 



LESSONS OF SHERIFFS RACE. 

At 9:30 o'clock this morning, when the election of 
Johns was practically conceded. Dr. Ira Landrith, the 



58 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

long-time Chairman of the Committee of One Hundred, 
and from the first close in the councils of Mr. Johns, 
said: 

"A majority of one vote for Mr. Johns would have 
been a great victory for good citizenship. The day before' 
the election the lawless elements opposed to Mr. Johns 
— and great is the pity that in the interest of mere party 
regularity, some very good men were in intimate associa- 
tion with these gamblers and Sunday saloonists — got out 
a circular saying, among other things, 'The situation is 
serious in the extreme. . . . We have a green-eyed 
monster confronting us, called by its advocates and the 
journals of the country, also, Temperance. The inten- 
tion and operation of this principle is Prohibition, of the 
most rabid nature and damning effect against the rights 
of a free people. . . . Prohibition howls for more 
law and order. This terrible state of lawlessness — it is 
awful, certainly awful, if we are to judge by what the 
American, Jeff McCarn, Ira Landrith and Johns say 
about it. If a man has money and wants to risk it on a 
game of chance, that is his buisness. . . . Johns is 
the candidate of this Anti-Saloon League and Committee 
of One Hundred, the Law and Order League, this moral 
reform and moral purity element. Too much law and 
too much order destroy free government. . . . First, 
last and all the time ... let all kinds of men go to 
the polls and defeat C. D. Johns, for such men as he are 
destructive to free government.' 

"Further testimony than this should not be needed 
to show who were Cartwright's closest friends, and why ; 
and it should serve to put the public on notice that the 
men who have spoken and worked for Cartwright's elec- 
tion are men who can hereafter with safety be shunned 
when offices are to be filled and political leaders chosen. 



AND Pool of Blood 59 

"The lessons of the election are numerous. These are 
some of them: 

'Tirst — Uncompromising advocacy of law enforce- 
ment is good politics in the decent County of Davidson. 

"Second — The leaven of the law-enforcement cam- 
paign of 1900-1903 has at last done its work, and the 
upright citizenship of this community has but to con- 
tinue unselfish and wide-awake to win the next legislative 
and mayoralty campaigns. 

"Third — The people of free Tennessee will not stand 
for the *yaIler-dog,' 'party lash,' out-of-date kind of Dem- 
ocracy, when the nominee is unworthy and untrue to his 
oath of office. At last the good principle has been estab- 
lished that a man who has not done his duty in office, or 
will not do his duty, has no right to ask for Democratic 
nomination, and if he secures such nomination, no true 
Democrat should support him.. Principle is not only a 
bigger word but a better one than party." 



60 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 



THE PRICE OF MAKING GOOD AS A PUBLIC 

OFFICIAL.— ANTAGONIZING 

DEMAGOGUES. 

For a better understanding of the head of this chap- 
ter, I shall explain that it refers more especially to 
criminal executive officers who invariably promise to dis- 
charge their duty without fear or favor as an election 
approaches. Now, here in Nashville, they are not ex- 
pected to carry out these promises. If they were they 
never would get the chance to do it; our majority is not 
of that sort. They do not want, nor will they have, men 
in office who give evidence of having a conscience in 
their anatomy, at least not more than one term, if by a 
miracle he gets that. 

If the reader will pardon the excess of ego in this nar- 
rative, the writer, knowing his own experience more per- 
fectly, will use it largely in presenting the facts bearing 
on the subject. He was one who, by the aid of the fates 
or some miraculous unseen power, was elected to the 
office of sheriff of Davidson County by the magnificent 
majority of thirty-four in the good year A. D. 1906. 

At that time the saloons, with their appendages, had 
become so bold and aggressive in their open contempt 
for the law that a public sentiment had sprung up against 
them which seemed to give promise of their extermi- 
nation. The officers had failed from some cause, whether 
purposely or not, to restrain them. 

I believed that if given the chance I could reduce the 



AND Pool of Blood 61 

trouble to a minimum, at the least, and so declared from 
the stump, pledging that if six reputable citizens, after I 
had been in office six months, would charge that I had 
been remiss in my duty, I would resign the office. I 
was not called on to resign. 

I further announced on the Public Square, in a speech 
to a large crowd, that I would put Jim Williams, one of 
the most notorious dive-keepers in Nashville, out of busi- 
ness, or put him on the rock pile. He went to the rock 
pile. 

I further stated that the diamond-studded gamblers 
who infested the street on one of the main thoroughfares 
and made disrespectful remarks about ladies passing, 
would change their location or go to the lock-up. 

These and many other promises I made. Practically, 
I agreed to clean up the city, and I will just say now that 
if six reputable citizens will say that these promises were 
not kept, as far as it was possible, and that Nashville was 
not, during my tenure, as clean as it has been in twenty- 
five years, I will retract all I have said and apologize for 
saying it. 

With this, as I think, as a necessary prelude, I shall 
get to m.y main subject. 

It is said that *'The very effort to forget but strength- 
ens memory." I would gladly free my mind from the 
harrowing recollections of this period of my earthly ex- 
istence. Of course, I was defeated for a second term. 
I had "made good" by keeping my promises to the law- 
abiding citizens to whose suffrage I owed my tenure. I 
had made the streets safe for ladies to traverse without 
danger of insult, and I must be displaced. 

When my war on the gamblers and Sunday saloonists 
began, I was denominated everything but a gentleman; 
was charged with being a grafter; with playing favor- 



62 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

ites. Reports were circulated intimating that I was 
guilty of immoral conduct at the jail, when, in fact, I 
had merely closed an assignation house on taking charge. 

Not satisfied with slanderous assaults on my official 
conduct, they turned the filthy vials of their wrath on 
my private life, giving circulation to other slanderous 
and "would be" damaging reix>rts touching my home life. 
I was characterized as a wife-beater, and that my wife 
either had, or was, about to institute divorce proceedings. 
A great deal of this scandal was given publicity through 
that dirty, contemptible sheet, the Nashville American, 
which everybody knows got so low and dirty that hun- 
dreds of respectable people would not allow it on their 
premises. Many said that it was positively indecent and 
not fit to be where children could see it. Others said 
they would not put their hands on it to throw it out of 
their yards, but would take a stick and handle it as they 
would a snake, and many like expressions. 

Well, I knew that the influence of that sheet could do 
me no material harm. Nevertheless, my blood was made 
to boil by the continued onslaught on my domestic life, 
although I could bring the evidence of every decent man 
who ever came to my house that I was a veritable semi- 
lunatic on solicitude for, and devotion to, my family. 

They did not stop there, but even poisoned the mind 
of Col. H. M. Doak against me, his sister having raised 
me, an orphan. I had by this time become so near crazy 
that it required all the self-restraint that I could com- 
mand to prevent me from wreaking summary vengeance 
on the authors of all this calumny, and especially the 
Nashville American and its dirty editor. And had I 
been possessed of the murderous spirit of some of his no 
less disreputable, but loyal, supporters, he might have 



AND Pool of Blood 63 

been disposed of in the manner that they disposed of the 
lamented Carmack. 

NOT DIGRESSING FROM MY SUBJECT. 

But were they dissatisfied? Nay, verily. It is neces- 
sary to state here that my father was a Mason, and that 
it is due to the influence of that benevolent order that we 
orphan children were placed in good homes and given a 
chance in life. While the aims, purposes and accom- 
plishments of Freemasonry are beyond the pale of critic 
cism, yet, with all the care and precaution exercised, and 
contrary to the principles of the order, dirty, slimy poli- 
tics will creep into it unawares. Our mother was so 
imbued with love and admiration for this beneficent 
order that divers times during the later years of her life, 
and to the day of her death, she begged of my brother 
and myself a promise that as soon as possible we would 
join the Masons. I had not, from unavoidable causes, 
up to that time complied with her injunction, but was 
then for the first time in a position to do so. Although 
recommended by as high-toned Masons as Nashville can 
boast of, my Nemesis was there, and I was met on the 
threshold by henchmen of my political enemies and denied 
the privilege of complying with my mother's life-long 
Avish. 

I felt that this was the heaviest burden, that had been 
imposed upon me. I was in possession of evidence that 
proved beyond cavil that my character was unimpeach- 
able; that I had been ostracized by unworthy members 
of a most worthy order, who had crept in at the back 
door was self-evident; that they had been actuated by a 
mean, contemptible spirit of revenge, because I had re- 
fused to surrender my manhood and cringe in abject 



64 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

submission to their villainous mandates, was plainly 
obvious. 

I received some consolation in the thought that the 
spirit of my mother, which dwelt in the realms of the 
blest, looked down in approval with the knowledge that 
her boy had used his every effort to fulfill his promise 
to comply with her most earnest admonition. 

The disinterested, and, in my childhood, much needed 
care, bestowed on me by the Masonic order, together with 
the earnest appeal of my mother, who for years has been 
with the beatified, very naturally created within me an 
o'er weening desire to affiliate at its shrine in a spirit of 
fraternal love. That the unscrupulous, unfeeling minions 
of darkness should attempt to perform their dirty ablu- 
tions in a manner to cause years to blot the melancholy 
memories of my sacred and hallowed dead, was indeed a 
burden hard to bear. But it was a part of the price. 

Reader, you may now gather a faint idea of the price 
of "making good" in Nashville politically, but you never 
can conceive, except with a personal experience and ob- 
servation, the low, dirty, revengeful spirit that abides in 
the breasts of the disreputable, piratical gang that domi- 
nates and controls our Modern Athens, together with 
other leading cities, and through them the state govern- 
ment. 

This fair city, endowed by Nature with everything 
needful to promote health, wealth and happiness, with 
her magnificent educational facilities and imposing edi- 
fices, her fine architectural church buildings, her vast 
commercial and manufacturing enterprises, yet lying 
supinely on her back too impotent to rise from under the 
dominion of a gang of as dirty political demagogues as 
ever burdened the earth, is enough to bring the blush of 
shame to the cheek of every loyal and patriotic son of 



AND Pool of Blood 65 

Tennessee, and to cause the angels to weep tears of blood 
around the graves of her heroic and consecrated dead. 

One of the most anomalous features pertaining to the 
subject under discussion is that numbers of people who 
are most persistent in their clamor for law enforcement, 
and loudest in their denunciation of officials who fail to 
do so, are also loudest in their denunciation of the officer 
that "makes good," a superficial knowledge of meta- 
physics and its relation to the dual or complex human 
anatomy, taken in connection with local conditions in 
Nashville, gives a very clear explanation of this extra- 
ordinary mutual phenomenon. 

The man sees that things are badly out of joint. They 
have been so as far back as his recollection extends. Pos- 
sibly he knows that a change is not only desirable, but 
imperative, if the city is to be safe for the young to live in, 
or for the unsophisticated stranger who enters her gates 
to abide, and in consequence he is deeply solicitous for 
law enforcement. He sees saloons violating law unre- 
strained and unrebuked. He sees hotel lobbies, railroad 
stations and other places where strangers may be found, 
infested with boosters whose business it is to entice the 
unwary into dens of iniquity, where they can be scien- 
tifically robbed. He sees a lot of other things that he 
wants stopped, or thinks he does. 

This man is honest. So far, he has never seen the law 
enforced, and does not know what the consequence might 
be if it is done. But he gives his vote to a man who 
promises to enforce the law, and who he believes will 
''make good." 

The lawless element has carried things their own way 
so long that they have become over confident and care- 
less, and this man is elected by a small majority. In due 
time he is inducted into office and proceeds to carry out 

5 



66 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

his pre-election promises to the letter. The saloons are 
made to stay within the limits of the law. The gambling 
contingent is estopped, and all lawbreakers made to know 
that they must change their buisness or suffer the con- 
sequences. 

These results soon became apparent. These gamblers, 
who have been living on the fat of the land, have been 
put out of business. They have been the most liberal 
patrons of all lines of business, but have been forced to 
practice economy or seek new pastures. In either case 
their very liberal patronage has been withdrawn and the 
merchant's trade diminished materially. Now, our friend, 
the voter, is a merchant, and has observed the curtail- 
ment in his business and begins to look about for the 
cause. He soon finds it. Then he gets to thinking, and 
his thoughts run in a channel like this : "That officer is 
too drastic. He ought to know how to discharge his 
duty Vvithout destroying the business of the town. He 
could have maintained order without driving everybody 
out of town," and like character of reasoning. But he 
makes up his mind then and there that he will not vote 
for that man any more. He wants a more conservative 
man who has sense enough to enforce the law without 
disastrous consequences to business. 

Nov/, reader, this is a hypothetical case, the object of 
which is to show: 

That a great many men do not want law enforcement 
nearly as bad as they think they do ; 

That selfishness is one of the mainsprings of action ; 

That they would like to see things done decently and 
in order just so long as their personal interest is not 
affected, and no longer; 

That they neither know nor care for the effect on 
others, just so long as it doesn't affect them; 



AND Pool of Blood 67 

That they are strangers to patriotism and love of coun- 
try, and love only themselves and, perchance, their folks. 

And to show how an honest official receives blame 
when praise is due, condemnation in lieu of encourage- 
ment and defeat .when he deserves endorsement. 

You may also find in the city of Nashville scores of 
just such people who are foolish enough to believe that 
they are good citizens who perpetuate by their suffrage 
the deplorable conditions that now exist, and the only 
reason why that man has not sold principle for so much 
business is that he had none in stock. 

He heaps condemnation and abuse on the man who has 
given him v/hat he imagined that he wanted, and clam- 
ored loudly to get, and found that it was something 
entirely different that he wanted. 

This is but another item in the price a faithful public 
servant pays. 

I am forced to abandon the position that I have always 
tried to maintain, that there were more good people in 
Nashville who wanted good government than there were 
bad ones who did not want it; and that when they were 
fully aroused from their lethargy it would manifest itself 
at the polls. But if that is true, and they are not now 
awake, their case would seem to be hopeless. They have 
evidently had an overdose of dope. 

While I have paid the price, in part, for my effort to 
discharge my duty and maintain inviolate the integrity 
of my oath, I am not yet done, nor do I ever expect im- 
munity from the consequences resulting from the ven- 
omous attacks of my enemies. But my life remains. 
How soon that penalty will be exacted of me, the future 
can only reveal. 

We have a most illustrious example liere in Tennessee 
of one whose life paid the forfeit for integrity, faithful- 



68 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

riess and fearlessness in his adherence to principle and 
the discharge of public duty. The late lamented Edward 
Ward Carmack, whose unflinching devotion to truth and 
duty caused him to be shot down like a common dog and 
his body to lie in the gutter on one of Nashville's most 
prominent thoroughfares, the particulars of which are 
given in another chapter. 



AND Pool of Blood 69 



WHAT I EXPECT. 

Knowing the crowd of political cutthroats that I am 
assailing in this book, I do not hesitate to predict my own 
death at the hands of a paid "slugger." 

I know that my life is in as much danger by taking this 
step as if I stood in the front ranks of an army facing 
the muzzles of the enemy's belching artillery. 

There are some dirty scoundrels in Tennessee who 
would rejoice at the flow of my blood with the same 
glee and satisfaction the toper experiences as the wine 
gurgles from the faucet of the cask as it is turned to 
allow the sparkling fluid to pour into his waiting glass. 

I as firmly believe I shall be the victim of the hired 
assassin as that I am writing these words. I know the 
vampires with whom I am dealing, and whep a man 
becomes so bold as to cross their path, steps are imme- 
diately taken to silence him, his life being the forfeit if 
it is necessary. 

What do these adamant-hearted leeches care for the 
life of any man, when by deliberately taking it they can 
benefit themselves financially or otherwise? They have 
taken lives before, so why should I presume to be so 
great as to be free from their wrath? 

A burglar always kills to prevent exposure. Why 
should I expect to be favored by being allowed to live at 
the hands of the burglars I am exposing? When a city 
is turned over to be pillaged, woe be to the man who at- 
tempts to bar the path of the crazed looters. 

They know I hate their methods, but lately they have 
not had occasion to fear me. They have been resting 



70 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

securely for some time, consoled by the thoughPt that they 
had me muzzled and chained to the dog-house. But then 
they cannot keep me down all the time, so here I am at 
my old tricks again, arid I intend now to keep at them 
until the trigger is pulled or until they quit their thievery 
and crookedness. 

I do not see why men so easily develop into demons, 
but it seems there are scores of them who have passed 
through the evolution. 

I am expecting the bullet from one of four directions, 
either from what is commonly known as the lawless 
crowd, the corporations, the Romanists, or a very small 
crowd of very small politicians. Or they may act jointly. 

They have tried to kill me before in a much more in- 
human way, and they would have sent with me innocent 
ones near and dear to me. That being true, I feel that I 
am only complimenting them when I give them credit 
for being willing to be more considerate of my feelings 
in dispafching me. 

I had rather die at their hands while fighting them 
than to live and be a party to their robberies of women 
and children by remaining quiet as to their actions. 

They know I have been watching them, but they did 
not know I would ever again be dangerous. They put 
me out of office, but that did not have the silencing effect 
they expected it to. They will realize now that the only 
way of permanently silencing me will be by that method 
which is resorted to in cases similar to this one of mine 
—the bullet. 

When the shooting is done, I hope the assassin will be 
kind enough to equip his firearm with a Maxim silencer, 
for I can not imagine anything more provoking than for 
one to hear the report of the shot directed at his vital 
parts for the purpose of forcing upon him an involuntary 



AND Pool of Blood 71 

shuffling off. I shall consider this precaution on the part 
of the agent sent to make me "cash in" a personal favor, 
and if I have time after the impact of the leaden mes- 
senger I shall take a delight in thanking him for his 
kindness if he will only remain long enough to allow me 
to address him. However, considering all things, I do 
not see why he should be in haste, for there will be no 
danger lying ahead in the present Davidson County crim- 
inal court in the shape of a punishment for his act. 

Numbers of my friends have tried to persuade me to 
drop the idea of publishing this book, for no other reason 
than that it would probably cost me my life. I had 
thought of this before beginning its compilation, and their 
kindly warning held no fears for me. I have looked at it 
from every viewpoint, and the result has been that I am 
more firmly convinced with each weighing of the matter 
that my duty lies in giving the book to the public as I 
had planned it. 

I want to thank all these friends for their kindness 
and thought of me, but I owe it to them and to myself to 
pursue no other course than the one I have selected to 
follow. 

If the worst occurs it will be after the book is out and 
in the hands of the reader, and the public will have in its 
hands a message I have been carrying on my mind for 
more than two years in search of a channel through 
which to let it flow. 



72 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 



SHERIFF BORUM'S TREATMENT OF CAR- 
MACK'S MURDERERS. 

Sam H. Borum was sheriff of Davidson County at the 
time the Coopers killed Senator Carmack, and these men, 
jointly with John D. Sharpe, who was charged with being 
an accomplice, were placed in the county jail directly in 
his charge. 

Borum was known to be a Patterson man, and no one 
doubted that his three noted prisoners would be accorded 
all honor. This was the case, and Borum fitted as snugly 
into his place as those who were close to the principal 
actors in the assassination had calculated he would. 

He was an important part of the machinery, from the 
arresting officer clear on up through the court to the 
governor. Borum was as faithful in the discharge of 
this duty to his friends as a real good officer would be 
expected to be in his loyalty to the people he was elected 
to serve. 

When Duncan B. Cooper, Robin J. Cooper and John 
D. Sharpe were placed in the Davidson County jail on 
the charge of having murdered Senator E. W. Carmack 
on one of Nashville's principal and most frequented thor- 
oughfares, it was more like entering a club to them than 
being imprisoned for an awful crime. 

All prisoners should be treated kindly and as if they 
were human, but special quarters were fitted up for this 
trio, and they enjoyed all the conveniences found in the 
most modern hotel, rather than the inconveniences inci- 
dent to jail life. 



AND Pool of Blood 73 

They were waited on and looked after by Sheriff Sam 
H. Borum more like he was in charge of a health resort 
and they were his patients, than that they were prisoners 
with the stain of a noted citizen's blood on their hands. 
Special furniture and carpeting were supplied them, 
together with reading matter, including the daily papers 
and the latest magazines. They were allowed freedom 
that no other prisoners would think of asking for. 

Contrary to all law and custom, they were allowed 
free and private discourse with one another, and were 
perfectly at liberty to lay any plans for their defense 
they saw fit and agree on what each one should swear. 

Borum was censured for this, and his unheard of lax- 
ity was called to his attention daily, both by the decent 
press and reputable citizenship. These he heeded not, but 
continued to serve those to whom he owed allegiance. 

These prisoners were always served with the best dur- 
ing their incarceration, and they never suffered one bit 
from the loss of those delicacies they had been accus- 
tomed to before being charged with murder. 

I doubt if there is another case on record where men 
who had broken the most rigid rule in the code of law 
were so well and effectually shielded from the hand of 
justice by officials whose sworn duty it was to see that 
criminals were justly punished. 

Duncan Cooper spent the days in jail and the nights 
at home. He was not under bond, but he was allowed 
almost as much freedom as if he had given surety for 
his appearance in court. 

As soon as darkness would fall to cover their move- 
ments, Sheriff Borum would hustle Duncan Cooper into 
a securely curtained carriage and drive him to his home 
for the night. The next morning, before anyone was 
astir, the sheriff would get his pet charge and bring him 



74 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

back to his comfortable and luxurious quarters in the 
jail. 

I first heard of this from the lips of Duncan B. Cooper 
himself while his case was pending in the Supreme Court, 
and at which time he was trying to bribe me and others 
with a fabulous sum of money into swearing a lie that 
the Governor of Tennessee might show to an incredulous 
public justification for a certain act he had some time 
before determined he would perform. 



AND Pool of Blood 75 



THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SOME THINGS THAT 

HAPPENED AND SOME THAT DID NOT 

HAPPEN. 

When one sits quietly down and thinks for himself on 
any question he usually sees more in it than he at first 
thought. Points which were at first hidden come to light, 
and by placing these in their proper places an entirely 
different view is obtained. The old system of adding two 
to two is a good one, and when this is done the answer, 
four, shows the reasoner that which he could not see 
until he did his own calculating. We often spend hours 
in defense of a question with no other reason for doing 
so than that we are looking at it through ready-adjusted 
glasses. This is why so many people take the view that 
it is absurd to connect the names of Patterson, Bradford 
and others with the murder of Senator Carmack. But 
suppose these same people were convinced 

That Gov. M. R. Patterson swore a lie when he testi- 
fied at the trial of the Coopers and Sharpe that he had 
called the Coopers over J. C. Bradford's office telephone 
a short while before the murder of Senator Carmack and 
asked them to meet him at the executive mansion at once, 
and that they were on their way to his home at the time 
they stepped several yards out of their way to kill Mr. 
Carmack. 

That the telephone did not even so much as ring at or 
near the time Patterson said it did, and that if it had 
Patterson did not go home to fill the appointment. 

That instead of Governor Malcolm R. Patterson call- 
ing Duncan Brown Cooper at that time, that Cooper 



76 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

■ called him, saying, "Is that you, Governor ?" Cooper then 
immediately hanging up the receiver and starting on his 
journey, accompanied by his son, Robin, the pale ex- 
pression of whose face was evidence that he was about 
to commit an awful deed. 

That J. C. Bradford, who had an aversion to answer- 
ing his office telephone and was never known to do so 
before when there was anyone else present to do it for 
him, there being only an extension 'phone at his desk, 
the bell ringing in another room and at the desk of his 
stenographer, where the main 'phone had its place, he 
having knowledge of her presence at her post of duty at 
the time, but that he did do a thing he was never known 
to do before, i. e., answer his telephone when he did not 
have to, the time he did this unusual thing being a few 
minutes after the murder of Senator Carmack, his first 
remark being, when he had adjusted the receiver to his 
ear, "Is that you, Dune?" the reply being, "Yes. That 
you, Jim ?" 

That J. C. Bradford did then don his overcoat and 
start out, saying, to the young lady in the outer office, 
"Miss Lea, Robin Cooper has killed Senator Carmack 
and I am going to see about it," he being perfectly calm 
and self-possessed at the time. 

That Governor Patterson gave out one statement to 
the press and that this statement did not suit J. C. Brad- 
ford and that he at once so informed the governor, the 
latter then making an attempt to regain his first state- 
ment and replace it with the one Bradford had prepared, 
but that he could not do this and was forced to let the 
first one stand and appear along with the Bradford 
product. 

That J. C. Bradford then prepared "a statement of 
facts" to be used by the gang in discussing the aflFair, all 



AND Pool of Blood 77 

of Patterson's future statements bearing on the murder 
of Carmack coinciding with the Bradford "statement of 
facts." 

That there was, at the time of the murder of Car- 
mack, a young lady from Monteagle, Tenn., visiting rela- 
tives in the Polk Flats,, a building which overlooks the 
scene of the killing, this same young lady being a niece 
of Major E. C. Lewis, a man who is so close to the 
Coopers, Patterson and Bradford in every way as to be a 
part and parcel of them, his whole efforts being directed 
towards the defense of the murderers, and that this 
young lady, more than likely against her will, was taken 
to J. C. Bradford's office where she was induced to make 
a statement as to what occurred that day in front of the 
Polk Flats, and that this statement would have been used 
in favor of the assassins at their trial had not the con- 
spirators become frightened and decided it best not to 
present this in evidence, and that numbers of other people 
who had only heard of the killing through the press were 
brought into the office of this man Bradford and for cer- 
tain reasons made statements about a thing they were 
absolutely ignorant of, the testimony which they were 
"anxious" to give being also withheld as evidence at the 
trial because of the boldness of this attempt to thwart 
justice. 

Yes, I am sure that if these people knew the above to 
be facts, they would, or at least some of them would, 
cease their praises of Patterson and those so closely allied 
with him. I feel sure that the foregoing is correct, and 
I am doubly sure that there will be no attempt to deny 
it by those more directly concerned. 

The story of Patterson calling Cooper was made up 
too late, or else he would not have gotten matters so con- 
fused as to say he had an appointment without being 



78 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

able to satisfactorily explain why he was not at the place 
agreed upon to meet Col. Cooper. He did not know 
then he was going to be called upon to invent a story to 
shield himself. 

And why did Duncan Cooper call Patterson at the 
time he did if it was not for the purpose of notifying him 
that he was then starting on his murderous journey? 
The words, "Is that you, Governor?" sufficed to deliver 
the message that was being awaited at the capitol that 
day. 

Another strange thing is that Bradford answered his 
own telephone when the message came telling of the kill- 
ing, and that he knew who was at the other end before 
the party calling him had time to speak. 

Then there are Patterson's two statements, as much 
unlike each other as day and night, with all future state- 
ments of his tallying exactly with J. C. Bradford's 
"statement of facts." 

Before the trial that whole gang busied itself in getting 
together a lot of false testimony, there probably being no 
other kind to be had to serve tlieir purpose. 



AND Pool of Blood 79 



DUNC COOPER'S ATTEMPT TO BRIBE JURY 
FOREMAN F. O. BEERMAN, DETECTIVE JOHN 
YEAMAN AND EX-SHERIFF C. D. JOHNS BY 
OFFERING THEM MONEY AND PROTECTION 
FROM GOV. M. R. PATTERSON. 

The most important reason I had for publishing this 
book was to create a vehicle by which I could give to 
the public that which it cost me no little anxiety and 
worry to come into possession of. 

I am now about to narrate a few happenings, the tell- 
ing of which will demand all my self-control to prevent 
my giving vent to my feelings in the matter. My abject 
hatred and utter detestation of the men concerned in the 
affair on one side would be a reasonable excuse for my 
giving expression to the pent up feeling I find their dirty 
acts have filled me with. 

They would never have gotten in touch with me unless 
they had been forced to in order to use me and those 
near me, as they thought, as tools to reach an end that 
they were trying for, even though they damned the souls 
of others in reaching it. Men of their type would sacri- 
fice a human soul, if necessary, to accomplish anything 
that their blackened hearts craved, with as much coolness 
and unconcern as they would extinguish, a match after 
it had performed the service of lighting a cigar. 

While two of these men had assurance that they would 
be freed from serving the prison terms they were sen- 
tenced to, there was yet another to be freed from some- 
thing else — the stigma of appearing to be connected with 



80 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

a dastardly crime any further than righting a wrong 
that had been done by a jury and supreme court. 

They were desperate, and, to smooth over one crime 
they were trying to commit another. The Governor of 
Tennessee was into a muddle, and he was casting about 
for an excuse for an act he had long since determined he 
would perform, whether he could manufacture an ex- 
cuse or not. He knew that act would mean his forced 
retirement from public office unless he could prove to the 
people that by doing it he was seeing that justice was 
done. 

It made stronger my conviction that Patterson was 
as unfit for an office of public trust as the most degraded 
convict "doing time" in Tennessee's state prison. 

It was now Patterson's time to be saved, and, naturally 
enough, Dune Cooper was trying to act as savior. The 
''Little Game Cock of Democracy" was still going to be 
"game," but human-like, he wanted something to stand 
on, and the only thing he could hope for was a bunch of 
sworn lies, adding subornation of perjury to his other 
sins. 

It was a drifting straw and the drowning man was 
grabbing at it. Later events showed that he missed it, 
and he sank to the bottom. Since then he has been mak- 
ing notable efforts to rise to the surface, but with a collar 
of public opinion about his neck he cannot scramble back 
to the point from where he made the plunge. By fulfill- 
ing a promise he made to his "close personal and political 
friends" he has built a mountain between himself and 
public office, and never again will he receive pay from 
his state and his country for duties unperformed. Never 
again will he thrust his hands in their treasuries and take 
out that which he has not earned. 

"The way of the transgressor is hard," and this man. 



AND Pool of Blood 81 

as well as those he threw a protecting arm around, has 
picked a stony path to traverse. He evidently believes 
the people are as stupid as he claimed a certain grand jury 
and supreme court to be, both of which he had occasion 
to refer to in the same connection. If he does not think 
the people are stupid, he at least thinks they have very 
poor memories, or else his political ambitions would cease 
to show themselves. 

I had closely associated with me at one time W. D. 
Balch. For several years, and especially during my first 
and second campaigns for sheriff and while I occupied 
that office, he was a faithful and trustworthy assistant. 
And I must say in his favor that he was an untiring 
worker, and that he at different times rendered me great 
service. For reasons best known to ourselves we are now 
wide apart. 

I should not have deemed this worth mentioning but 
for the fact that Balch is to figure prominently in the 
story of the cat I am about to let out of the bag. It 
was through him that the matter first reached me, and 
had it not been for a deplorable act of his he would not 
have been selected as a fit source through which to set in 
motion a dirty scheme that was hatched by J. C. Brad- 
ford, Duncan B. Cooper and Malcolm R. Patterson. 

A short while before this Balch had gotten into serious 
trouble. He had boarded a Belmont street car on his 
way home in a drunken condition. By loud swearing 
and other indecent conduct he soon started trouble and 
drew his pistol. He was immediately disarmed and 
taken to the police station. The next morning he was 
bound over to the criminal court, where the grand jury 
found an indictment against him on the charge of carry- 
ing concealed weapons. This is a serious ofifense in 
Tennessee, and it caused him no little mental suffering, 



S2 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

with the picture of the rock pile fixed in his mind. He 
viewed it from every angle and this seemed inevitable. 

Those in whose hands he found himself were his bitter 
political enemies because of his activity in my behalf ; 
and he could not, or did not, expect leniency at their 
hands. His case was pitiable and I could see he was ex- 
periencing the tortures of the damned. 

His time was up and he was expecting any moment 
for a capias to be issued for him — for the law to reach 
out and take its grip upon him. 

But there was a slinking, designing scoundrel skulk- 
ing around, and Balch's case was to be the very thing 
that he was looking for to give him a start, or a finger- 
hold, on what he and his accomplices had figured as 
being a good thing to do if it could be done. 

I had offices in the Noel Block then, and one morning 
Balch came in with a light step, a broad grin of satis- 
faction covering his face, and it v/as the first time I had 
seen him smile since he got into trouble. 

He had hardly closed the door behind him when he 
began to tell me what had happened. 

''Well, Charley," he began, still smiling, "I'll bet you 
couldn't guess in a year who I saw and talked to this 
morning. I was never more surprised in my life." 

Not having the faintest idea whom he had seen, I did 
not venture a guess. 

"It was nobody but Duncan Cooper. I was coming in 
on a car," he went on to explain, "and saw him on there. 
There had not been a word between us, and when I got 
off at the corner Cooper followed me, saying he wanted 
to have a little talk with me. I was astonished and 
granted his request out of curiosity. When he had 
drawn me far enough aside that no one could hear, he 
said, 'Balch, you are in trouble — serious trouble — and I 
want to relieve your mind. Sam Borum has a capias for 



AND Pool of Blood 83 

you, but it won't be served. I have seen him and made 
it all right. You just go ahead and don't worry. Now, 
you be my friend and I'll be yours,' and with that he left 
me. Now, Charley, what do you think of that? That 
old scoundrel wants me to do something for him I know. 
1 am going to lead him on until I get my affair fixed and 
then he can go to h — 1. He thinks he is slick, but I'll 
show him how slick I am." 

We discussed this from many viewpoints, but could 
not exactly arrive at any definite conclusion as to 
Cooper's meaning. 

It was after he and his son, Robin J. Cooper, had been 
convicted of the murder of Senator E. W. Carmack and 
sentenced to twenty years each in the penitentiary, and 
while their case was pending in the Supreme Court of 
Tennessee, they having taken an appeal from the lower 
court's decision. Everybody was at fever heat over the 
affair, and it was well known that Patterson would par- 
don them if the higher court should affirm the verdict. 
Nobody doubted the ultimate setting free of the Coopers. 
Patterson was their sworn and avowed friend — they had 
killed his political enemy, the man he most feared and 
who would have completely annihilated him as far as 
holding public office was concerned had he been permit- 
ted to live. 

What would the people say if Patterson should issue 
those pardons without any reasonable excuse? There 
was no way out for the Governor, and he was sadly in 
need of one. If he would resort to one thing he would 
resort to another. The Governor needed something to 
free him from the crime he was going to commit almost 
as badly as the Coopers needed help to escape the penalty 
of the one they had perpetrated. There was no reason 
under the sun why the pardons should be issued, and no 
one knew it any better than the principals of the eventual 



84 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

pardon crime. Well might we add the lines from 
Shakespeare's Measure for Measure: 

"This is his pardon ; purchased by such sin, 
For which the pardoner himself is in: 
Hence hath offense his quick celerity, 
When it is born in high authority. 
When vice makes mercy, mercy's so extended, 
That for the fault's love is th' offender friended." 

The murder had been committed and now the final 
role must be played. As later developments showed, a 
silent cry for help was going up from the State Capitol, 
while Dune, the murderer, was hunting around hurriedly 
for a rope to throw to the man who was about to be 
engulfed. Ropes were scarce in those days and all this 
criminal searcher could find was a cotton string. This 
he began to try and wind into a coil for a throw at the 
outstretched hands in the water. 

About a week after Balch's talk with Cooper on the 
street the former came into the office with the news that 
he had met Sheriff Sam Borum on the street and that 
he had hastened to inform him that he had a capias in 
his pocket for him, but that it would stay right there, 
unserved, adding: "Dune Cooper has seen me and fixed 
everything." 

Cooper's scheme began to work and a day or two after 
the sheriff had assured him that the paper would not 
be served, Balch again "accidentally" met Cooper. 

This time he got right down to business and made 
known what he wanted in return for his good offices in 
influencing the sheriff of Davidson County to disregard 
his duty and oath. 

"Balch," he said, as the former later told me, "I want 
to get at John Yeaman. I want him to do some detective 



AND Pool of Blood 85 

work. We think that money was used with that jury 
against my son and me, and I want you to get me to 
John Yeaman in such a way as to enable me to get the 
matter before him. He has no use for me and you must 
help me reach him." 

Balch told him that Yeaman was not at all friendly to 
him (Balch) and that he could not do a thing with" him. 

"Now," said Balch, "if you want to reach Yeaman 
you will have to do it through C. D. Johns. He will 
listen to Johns, but if I should go to him the whole thing 
would be ruined." 

Cooper told Balch that he was afraid of me, as I had 
always been opposed to him, and that I was inclined to 
be too outspoken about matters that did not suit me. 

Balch brought all this news to me and my first impulse 
was to close the whole affair and show Dune Cooper how 
correct he was as to my being outspoken. After giving 
it mature thought, however, I came to the conclusion that 
there was a chance to entrap Cooper and Patterson and 
probably have a peep under their cover. I knew that 
jury was not corrupt, and I knew that Dune Cooper 
knew it. I felt that he was going to attempt some trick 
so I determined that there was a good chance for John 
Yeaman and me to do a little detective work ourselves. 

I called Mr. Yeaman over the telephone to come to 
my office, where I laid the whole matter before him, with 
the result that Cooper received word through Balch that 
Yeaman would consent to act only with the understanding 
that I should be kept informed of the whole proceedings. 

Balch returned with the report that Cooper was afraid 
of Johns. It was fully ten days before he made up his 
mind to trust me, and this he would not do until I had in 
some way committed myself. 

I had always been a bitter enemy of whisky and had 
been in many battles waged against it. In fact, that was 



86 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

known to be my hobby. Cooper sent me word that if 
I would give an interview to the Nashville American 
stating that the prohibition law was a failure he would 
take me into his confidence and feel that I had so com- 
mitted myself on his side that I could not do otherv/ise 
than be faithful to his gang. 

This called for another delay of several days. I could 
not get the consent of my mind at first to do it, but when 
I remembered Carmack and that I was dealing with a 
knave and a murderer, and that it was my duty to get all 
I could out of him, hoping to learn of some of the things 
that had been enacted behind closed doors, I decided to 
make the sacrifice. It proved to be a great sacrifice in 
that it cost me many friends. My friends and supporters 
could not understand why I had done such an unexpected 
thing as to turn against prohibition, and the step I took 
has caused me much anguish, but what I discovered by 
putting myself on the "inside" with the Governor and 
his pet murderers has in a way repaid me for the suflfer- 
ing I have undergone because of being falsely accused. 
T never have changed my mind about that great question. 
I wanted to ensnare Dune Cooper, and that is the only 
reason in the world why I did it. 

I gave the interview and was further humiliated by 
having it go through the hands of that most shrewd of 
schemers, James C. Bradford, brother-in-law of Duncan 
B. Cooper and chief adviser of M. R. Patterson. 

My interview appeared in the Nashville American, 
that old insult to common decency, and when it reached 
the crime-reeking columns of that dirty, filthy sheet 
after having passed through the tricky hands of Brad- 
ford, it was materially changed. My picture was pub- 
lished along with it, and as I wanted to finish what I had 
undertaken, I did not attem.pt to deny any part of it. 
For this I have been greatly censured, and while it was 



AND Pool of Blood ST 

unjust, I cannot blame the public, for my silence further 
convicted me of being an enemy to prohibition when, in 
fact, it has not a stronger and more ardent supporter 
than I. 

After I had suffered the sting of seeing my interview 
appear in the American, Cooper became a little more bold 
and decided to let me on the ''inside" of his scheme, for 
that is what it later proved to be. However, before I had 
the honor (?) of being received in conference with the 
great Dune, another party was put into the ring, and he 
entered it by telephoning Balch at my office. When he 
had answered the call he turned to me and said : 

''Well, that one was a different one entirely. It was 
nobody but d — n little Emmett Pryor. He wants to see 
me privately in an out-of-the-way place, and requested 
me to come right away to Murphy's carriage shop on 
First avenue, where we can talk in the back end without 
being seen or heard." 

Balch filled this appointment and returned and told 
me what had occurred. He said Pryor wanted to see 
him about the Cooper matter, and told him there was 
$8,000.00 in the American National Bank for the man 
who would show that money had been used by the state 
to bribe the Cooper-Sharpe jury. 

Pryor was so anxious (?) for Balch to get this big 
fee that he gave him the name of a man he was sure had 
handled the bribe money. He advised Balch to camp on 
the trail of Joe Patten, a deputy sheriff, and by running 
him to cover he would probably get his man. 

Just why Pryor was so kind as to let Balch make all 
this money without trying for it himself he did not 
explain. I warned Balch and told him not to let Pryor 
entangle him. He said there was no danger of that as 
he had brains enough to handle him and would use him 
to his own benefit. 



88 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

A few days later it was arranged that John Yeaman 
and I should meet Duncan Cooper in J. C. Bradford's 
office in the Noel Block. While Bradford could be seen 
in an adjoining room, he did not take part in this or any 
subsequent conference. 

Cooper informed us that he and Governor Patterson 
had every reason to believe that money had been used 
against him and his son in their trial, and that they 
wanted evidence of it, feeling that Yeaman was the man 
to uncover it, he being friendly to the other side. He 
further said that Patterson was going to pardon him and 
Robin if the Supreme Court should decide against them, 
but that he was looking for some reason to give the 
public for doing it, and that if they could discover that 
money had been used with the jury that would be suf- 
ficient ground for his action. 

Yeaman and I agreed that if fraud had been resorted 
to it was only just that those responsible for it should be 
punished, regardless of the guilt of the parties on trial 
before the alleged bribed jury, and if that should prove 
to be true, we would be glad to see that justice was done. 

Mr. Yeaman then asked what the remuneration would 
be for the services about to be rendered. Cooper said 
$1,000.00 would be the fee paid. 

"You get to F. O. Beerman," said Cooper. "He was 
foreman of that jury, and I am sure he knows something. 
You gentlemen get right after him and work your case 
up through him. Persuade him to come and see me. 
ril talk to him." 

We agreed to accept his proposition, feeling that Dun- 
can Cooper had as much right to know if he had had a 
fair chance in his trial as any other American citizen 
would have, but feeling doubly sure that no fraud had 
even been attempted. 

By the statement which I had given to the Nashville 



AND Pool of Blood 89 

American on the prohibition question, I won the atten- 
tion of one Milt. Ochs, a Jew, and editor of that sheet. 
He expressed a desire to see me and personally inform 
me what he thought of my bold ( ?) stand for right ( ?). 
As he was hand-in-glove with the Coopers and Patter- 
sons, it was ''Major Duncan Brown Cooper, the diplomat 
of the political Zweibund," who smilingly told me that 
Ochs would fain do me the honor in the quiet recesses 
of his sanctum sanctorium, to which place I repaired, 
escorted by the noble Dune. 

When we reached Ochs' office he warmly congratu- 
lated me on the statement I had made, saying that it was 
a reasonable view of the situation and that it would 
make me a great man before the people. He was very 
disgusting to me, and had he known how insignificant 
he appeared to me, even he, habitual hypocrite that he 
is, would not have had the nerve to face me further. He 
was so accustomed to deceiving the public through his 
two unreliable daily papers that he felt that I was weak 
enough to be "taken in" by what he was saying. He 
went on in this way for some time, while Cooper stood 
there and nodded approval. 

Ochs had a great scheme hidden beneath his curly 
'lochs," and this he began to unfold. 

I had made my mind up to "go the limit" with them, 
and when the editor of the Nashville American put 
another proposition to me I did not ask time in which to 
consider. I knew the crowd I was dealing with, and the 
least sign of hesitancy on my part at that juncture would 
have frightened them and my chances for discovering 
some of their secrets would have been materially les- 
sened. 

Since the killing of Senator Carmack it has been 
notorious that those most closely associated with his mur- 
der were owners and publishers of the Nashville Ameri- 



90 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

can. This being true, it is not strange that the editor of 
that paper should be the first to express a desire to see 
me after I had denounced (?) state-wide prohibition and 
come to the Cooper side to assist in running to earth a 
lot of imaginary bribe-givers and bribe-takers. 

Ochs was jubilant over the service he thought he was 
rendering his master, the Louisville & Nashville Railroad 
Company. 

Patterson, Bradford, Cooper and Ochs had planned 
great things for me, and it was news of this that the 
Nashville American's editor was running over with. 
That paper had sunk so low in its own filth that it had 
reached the level of Milt. Ochs, the Jew, and he Avas 
called in as its editor. But these two swill barrels of 
iniquity, Ochs and the American, soon stunk one another 
out and the paper went to hell and Ochs to Chattanooga. 

The ring-leaders mentioned above selected Ochs and 
his winning ways to inveigle me into taking the stump 
in the state against the state-wide prohibition law. 

This was what Ochs had to say to me. The plan was 
for me to open the fight in Chattanooga, where great 
preparations would be made for my coming. I was to 
be met at the train by a large delegation headed by a 
brass band. Ochs informed me that he owned the Chat- 
tanooga Times and that paper would advertise my com- 
ing. All I had to do was to go to Chattanooga, deliver 
a speech they had prepared for me, receive three hundred 
dollars for my one night's work and then go from there 
to other points in the state on the same mission, for 
which I was to receive additional pay. I agreed to this 
with a mental reservation. 

It was arranged that I was to go to Chattanooga, and 
the setting of the date was to be determined later. This 
was just what I was looking for. I knew that I would 
have some good * 'stuff" from Cooper and Patterson on 



AND Pool of Blood 91 

that bribery business before I left, and that and every- 
thing else I was going to expose from the platform in 
Chattanooga to their own crowd. 

I wanted to throw a bomb into their ranks, the explo- 
sion of which would so cripple them that they would rue 
the day Carmack was killed, and that the lawless element 
would no longer have them as champions. 

I had fully determined that when I got up before the 
"packed house" they guaranteed me in Chattanooga, I 
would first explain to those assembled there that the band 
and hall had cost me nothing; that the Chattanooga 
Thnes had furnished me space free at the instruction of 
Milt. Ochs; that all other advertising had been paid for 
by the Patterson-Louisville & Nashville-Cooper-Brad- 
ford crowd ; that I had received three hundred dollars in 
advance for being there on that occasion ; that this money 
had been paid me by the gang just mentioned; that I was 
supposed to make a speech to suit them; that instead of 
this the speech I would make would not suit them in the 
least. 

I was going to lay bare every one of that criminal 
gang, from "Ham" Patterson to Milt. Ochs. I had been 
worked up to the point where I felt able to tear them 
to pieces with words. I was dealing with a lot of 
crooks, and I had to be crafty to catch them. I was 
going, to make them bear the expense of the catching. 

I failed in this, however, because of my implicit faith 
in W. D. Balch at that time. I had been in the habit 
of telling him all my intentions and discussing with him 
their probable outcome. In this case there was no excep- 
tion, and I made a great mistake in doing so. I had 
forgotten that Duncan Cooper could be of more assist- 
ance to Balch at that time than I could. Cooper held the 
wliip over him through the capias resting in the pocket 



92 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

of Sheriff Sam H. Borum, and Balch had to see that he 
did nothing to antagonize him. 

Balch was forced to betray me to protect himself. I am 
positive he informed Cooper and Ochs that I intended 
exposing them at Chattanooga, for after I took Balch 
into my confidence there was nothing more said to me 
about the Chattanooga trip. Balch had been true to 
them, and Dune Cooper still held the sheriff off. 

After I had consented in Ochs' office to go to Chat- 
tanooga, and before I made known to Balch the course 
I would pursue, other events took place in regard to the 
bribed jury. 

John Yeaman and I had another conference in Brad- 
ford's office with Cooper. We had made a thorough 
investigation, and, as we expected, there were no signs 
of the bribery Cooper claimed was practiced. We had 
gone to F. O. Beerman, who was foreman of that jury, 
as Cooper directed, and he knew nothing of it. 

Beerman called on Cooper in regard to the matter on 
two occasions, once in his office and another time at his 
home. 

We gave Cooper good service, but we could give him 
no encouragement. 

Yeaman had been more instrumental in getting evi- 
dence against the murderers of Senator Carmack than 
any other man, and Cooper plainly saw that if he and I, 
his avowed political enemies, should go on the stand and 
swear that money had been used against him, it would go 
farther towards convincing, the public than for his friends 
to do it. 

He was working the whole matter in that sly, smooth 
way of his, and we knew this well enough to keep our- 
selves clear of his clutches. 

When the trial first began it was openly said on the 
streets of Nashville that the jury trying the case would 



AND Pool of Blood 93 

at least be a hung jury, and in nearly every instance 
Beerman was spoken of as the man who would do it. 
Just why he was thought to be controlled by Patterson, 
I do not know. I do know, however, that subsequent 
events proved the falsity of this, for Beerman, instead of 
standing for acquittal, as he was expected by many 
to do, at first voted for the infliction of the death penalty. 

In company with Yeaman, I went again to Cooper's 
office to make a report, with nothing to report. 

We told him we had been unable to find proof of his 
charge that money had been used against him. 

"Well," he said, when we had told him this, ''swear a 
damn lie; what do we care what we swear? Do this, 
and there is no limit to what you will get. It will be 
money to the ceiling if you do, and protection from the 
governor. He will pardon you if it comes to that, and 
call out the state militia to shield you if it becomes neces- 
sary. But this will not be necessary, as we are running 
things here now, and you will have nothing to fear. 
Remember, money to the ceiling and protection from the 
governor if you will swear the lie." 

He impressed upon us several times that we would 
receive "money to the ceiling and protection from the 
Governor of Tennessee" if we would swear to the lies 
he wanted. Cooper knew whereof he spoke, too, when 
he offered the governor's protection. 

He had reached his point at last, after having given 
us ample time to suggest such a thing rather than lose 
the money already offered. 

His money was no good; the lies were not sworn to, 
and Malcolm R. Patterson, then Governor of Tennessee, 
was compelled to carry out his promise to pardon his 
"close personal and political friend/' without any reason 
to give the public for doing it. 

Patterson had antagonized the Supreme Court of Ten- 



94 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

nessee in trying to coerce its members into not affirming 
the case of the Coopers, but his threats did not work in 
the direction he wished them to. Most of those judges 
came out in the next election as independent candidates, 
and that entire ticket was successful over the Patterson 
candidates, and it was nothing else but his pardon of 
Duncan Cooper and his attempt to rule the Supreme 
Court that did it. Had he not tried to be so high- 
handed, those judges would have gone back into office on 
the Democratic ticket. 

As every one knov/s, the decision of the Supreme Court 
in this instance Vv^as to sustain the lower court as to 
Duncan Brown Cooper and remand the case of his son, 
Robin Jones Cooper. 

A few days after Cooper's unsuccessful attempt to 
bribe John Yearnan and me to swear a lie to protect 
Patterson, Yeaman informed me that Beerman told him 
that Cooper had made him the same proposition, offering 
him the aid of the Governor of Tennessee and through 
him the state militia. 

Yet there are thousands of people in Tennessee who 
cannot, or will not, see that Patterson was almost as close 
to the murder of Senator Carmack as the assassins them- 
selves. If he was not, why was he offering, through 
Cooper, to use his position to protect any person who 
would swear to a lie about that jury? 

Why was the Governor of Tennessee, Malcolm R. Pat- 
terson, willing, to see one of his state's citizens perjure 
himself, unless he felt that it had to be done to shield 
him.? Who doubts that Duncan Cooper knew what he 
was talking about when he offered the protection of 
the governor ? Is there a man in the state narrow-minded 
enough to think for a moment that he was acting with- 
out the full knowledge of Governor M. R. Patterson? 
How did Duncan Cooper know in advance he would get 



AND Pool of Blood 95 

a pardon for the killing of Senator Carmack if Patterson 
was not closely associated with him in committing the 
deed? If Patterson promised a pardon for him and 
his son so soon after the murder, is it not reasonable 
to suppose that he promised it before the murder? Were 
not Duncan Cooper and his son, Robin, sufficiently intelli- 
gent to know the consequences of such a deed in advance 
and that they could not take the risk of doing it unless 
they were assured at first they would be taken care of 
by the higher power at the State Capitol? Was not 
Patterson with the Coopers every day immediately before 
the assassination, and also on the day the crime was 
committed? Did they not swear at their trial that they 
were on the way to the governor's mansion in ansv*^er to 
a call from him at the time they met and killed Senator 
Carm.ack? Did not John Sharpe, arrested and tried 
jointly with the Coopers, he being acquitted, swear that 
he met the Coopers in the Arcade and that they invited 
him to go to the governor's home with them ; that he had 
come down town to meet his wife, but that he abandoned 
that and went on with them without being able to say 
w^hy he made his wife secondary to the Coopers? And 
did he not further swear that when Seventh avenue w^as 
reached by going west on Union street, that he (Sharpe) 
turned north towards the governor's mansion, to which 
place he had been asked by the Coopers to accompany 
them, while they turned south? Did he not also swear 
that he did not think anything of this, although they 
did not tell him before reaching the point where they 
separated that they had changed their minds and would 
not go to the place where they had so earnestly solicited 
liim to go with them, and after he had given up filling 
the appointment with his wife to accompany them, but, 
instead, continued on the journey alone to the home of 
the governor? 



96 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

Then who thinks for a moment that Miss Skeffington, 
state librarian, swore falsely when she testified to meeting 
Sharpe near the mansion on Seventh Avenue North, and 
asking him what the shooting meant down the street, 
said: "It is Colonel Cooper shooting Senator Carmack." 

If the Coopers had been asked by Patterson to meet 
them at his home at that time of day, as the governor 
and the Coopers swore, why was it that the governor 
was not at his home to meet them at the appointed time, 
for did he not give out two statements that day, one 
conflicting with the other, and in one saying that he was 
shocked on coming from the Capitol in the evening to 
learn what had occurred? 

To give the reader a better idea of the embarrassing 
position in which Governor Patterson found himself 
immediately after the murder of Carmack, I quote the 
Nashville Tennesseean of Tuesday, November 19, 1908: 

''Did Governor Patterson know or not know that Col. 
Duncan B. Cooper, member of his kitchen cabinet, and 
his son, Robin Cooper, were planning to kill Senator 
Carmack ? 

"Governor Patterson last night issued one statement 
to the Tennesseean. An hour later he made an addition 
to it. In the first he said: T deeply deplore this unfor- 
tunate tragedy. I saw both young Mr. Cooper and his 
father this morning, and nothing occurred to cause me to 
suppose that an altercation w^ould take place with Senator 
Carmack or any one else.' 

'Tn his second statement, after saying that Colonel 
Cooper had planned to send a note to Senator Carmack 
in regard to the use of his name, he says : 'Robin Cooper 
left the Maxwell House with me in the morning, and 
promised to stay with his father, who seemed to be much 
excited, and prevent any possible trouble.' 

"It is known that Governor Patterson discussed the 



AND Pool of Blood 97 

matter with the two Coopers yesterday. He admits that 
much. It is also known that Governor Patterson's pri- 
vate secretary, W. D. Scruggs, stated pubHcly yesterday 
that Colonel Cooper was going to kill Senator Carmack. 
The question is, how much did the Governor of Tennes- 
see know ? 

**The first statement was given to a Tennesseean repre- 
sentative at the executive mansion, and was in Gov- 
ernor Patterson's own handwriting. An hour later, for- 
mer State Senator Albert G. Ewing, Jr., came to the 
Tennesseean office and requested that he he given the 
statement, as the governor wished to make an addition 
to it. 

"A true copy of the statement was made and wit- 
nessed, and the original given to Senator Ewing, who 
took it to the executive mansion. 

"In a short while it was returned, with the following 
addition to it, also in the governor's handwriting : 

" 'Colonel Cooper has been very much aggrieved at 
the use of his name by Senator Carmack, and I learned 
that he had prepared a note to Senator Carmack, demand- 
ing that in future his name not be used in editorials, as he 
was a mere private citizen, and should not be subjected 
to public attack or ridicule. 

" 'I strongly advised against sending the note, as did 
his son, Robin Cooper, and also Mr. Bradford, believing 
it might cause a difficulty, and urged him to take no 
notice of the objectionable editorials. Colonel Cooper 
assured me he would not send the note, and that there 
would be nothing more of it. 

" 'Robin Cooper left the Maxwell House with me in 
the morning, and promised to stay with his father, who 
seemed to be excited, and prevent any possible trouble. 
I thought the whole matter was ended until my return 



98 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

from the Capitol in the evening, when I was shocked to 
learn what had occurred.' " 

Governor Patterson must have been unduly excited, 
or he would not have found it necessary to ask for the 
return of his first statement "to make an addition to it." 
It seems that his plan was to get that statement back 
in his hands and make a new one entirely. But he was 
not successful in this and was forced to make two state- 
ments about the same thing, one seriously conflicting with 
the other. 

In his first statement, he said: "I saw young Mr. 
Cooper and his father this morning, and nothing occurred 
to cause me to suppose an altercation would take place 
with Senator Carmack or any one else." 

I do not doubt in the least that he is correct there. 
As an "altercation," according to Webster, is a battle of 
heated words, probably the governor did not think that 
his "friends" would dilly-dally long enough to resort to 
such, but would begin shooting as soon as the Senator 
was sighted. That which the governor said he .did not 
suppose would take place with the Senator or any one 
else did not occur, for Carmack was shot to death before 
an altercation could take place. 

Why didn't the governor say nothing occurred to cause 
him to suppose that the Coopers would shoot Senator 
Carmack? But then this is the statement he was so 
anxious to get back in his possession ; but the Tennes- 
seean kept a copy of it. 

In his second statement, we find this: "Robin Cooper 
left the Maxwell House with me in the morning and 
promised to go with his father, who seemed to be excited, 
and prevent any possible trouble." 

Then, if this is true, Governor Patterson made a false 
statement in his first note to the Tennesseean. On the 



AND Pool of Blood U9 

other hand, if the first is true, Governor Patterson made 
a false statement in his second note to the Tennesseean. 

If Robin Cooper "promised to stay with his father, 
who seemed to be excited, and prevent any possible 
trouble," that promise was a very weak thing for Ten- 
nessee's chief executive to leave the life of a prominent 
citizen in charge of, for Robin Cooper proved himself 
very unreliable, when, instead of even trying to do as 
the governor claims he said he would, he actually did 
the shooting that caused the death of Senator Carmack, 
while his father stood in front of his victim, and several 
feet away, he (Robin) having gone around and come 
up in the rear of Carmack, having gone several yards far- 
ther than it would have required to reach his father and 
"prevent any possible trouble," and passing the point 
where his father stood on his way to take the position 
he occupied as he fired the bullets into the back and 
neck of the editor of the Tennesseean. 

Probably he was so anxious to keep his word the gov- 
ernor claims he gave him that he had gone there to shoot 
his father in an effort to prevent his doing harm to any 
one else, and, in doing so, accidentally shot Senator 
Carmack. 

• If all of Robin Cooper's promises are as unreliable as 
the one Gov. M. R. Patterson claims he gave him in this 
instance, then he is not to be depended upon. 

If Colonel Cooper "was a mere private citizen, and 
should not be subjected to public attack or ridicule," to 
quote Governor Patterson in speaking of the alleged note 
addressed to Senator Carmack, why was it that he was 
so active in political affairs for the governor? If he 
was a "mere private citizen" and was not interested in 
public affairs whatever, why did he go to Chattanooga 
and close that deal with Hauck, whereby Malcolm R, 



,100 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

Patterson received over six thousand Republican votes, 
though he was a great "Regular Democrat" ? 

If Duncan Cooper "was a mere private citizen," why 
did Governor Patterson send such an untrained hand to 
win for him the friendship of John Isaac Cox? Duncan 
Cooper was doing all within his power to keep Malcolm 
R. Patterson at the head of things in Tennessee, and 
this was a crime sufficient to call more upon his head 
than the gifted Carmack heaped upon it with his match- 
less pen. 

The governor says further in his second statement that 
he "strongly advised against sending the note, as did his 
son, Robin Cooper, and also Mr. Bradford, believing it 
might cause a difficulty." Is it possible that they advised 
against the sending of this note, if there was a note — 
and I strongly doubt one having been written — because 
they foresaw that Carmack would have been warned of 
approaching danger and the chance of the Coopers taking 
his life before he could do them bodily harm would have 
been greatly lessened? Yes, it were probably better that 
Senator Carmack be not apprised of his danger direct 
from those who were planning to take his life. 

"I thought the whole matter was ended until my return 
from the capitol in the evening, when I was shocked to 
learn what had occurred," said Governor Patterson. 

The governor "thought" correctly. "The whole matter 
was ended." Carmack was dead, and there was noth- 
ing else for the Coopers to worry about. Their pardon 
was assured and the matter really closed. 

If the governor had an appointment with the Coopers 
at his home that afternoon, as he and they swore, it being 
claimed that they were on their way there to fill it, having 
invited John Sharpe to accompany them, although he 
had to break an appointment with his wife to do it, 



AND Pool of Blood 101 

why was it that Patterson was not at his residence to 
receive them? At the time he was at his office in the 
State Capitol, and, according to his own statement, he 
did not know the assassination had taken place until he 
came from there '*in the evening." If his "friends" were 
to have met him at his home, it being claimed that he had 
telephoned them to do so, which claim he substantiated 
as a witness at their trial, would they not have thought 
it strange that he was not there to meet them? And 
would they have waited there until he returned "from the 
capitol in the evening," or would they have become tired 
of waiting and gone to his office, where he still sat, un- 
mindful of the tryst he had with them? 

But this embarrassment and misunderstanding was 
avoided by the Coopers themselves forgetting the prear- 
ranged meeting with the governor and failing to show up 
at the selected time and place. 

Fortunate, wasn't it, that Patterson was detained at 
his office while those on their way to see him at the 
executive mansion were prevented from getting there? 
This spared embarrassment on both sides. 

No doubt, had the governor been at home expecting 
his "friends" he would have torn his hair at their tardi- 
ness. But this did not happen, however, thanks to the 
governor's "forgettery." 

The governor said he came from the capitol "in the 
evening." As it is not evening until after 6 p. m., and if 
it was really that time of day before he did come from 
the capitol, he was probably the last person in Tennessee 
who heard of the killing of Senator Carmack, the murder 
having occurred at 4 p. m. No doubt the governor was 
unduly excited at that time and wrote "evening," when he 
really intended to make it "afternoon." 

Then, to go back a little, if Colonel Cooper "assured" 



102 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

Governor Patterson ''that there would be nothing more 
of it," he proved a poor ''personal and political friend," 
for he must have known that it would place the governor 
in a very awkward position. But the Colonel did know, 
and there is no telling all he did know. To say the least 
of it, he knew enough to know he could take the life of 
Senator Carmack without fear of the consequences. And 
no man would accuse him of taking his son into such a 
thing unless he knew positively that his own flesh and 
blood was running no risk. 

Another strange thing is that Robin Cooper armed 
himself to keep his father from doing anyone else harm 
It seems that was a very poor v/ay to make his father 
keep the peace. Governor Patterson was keeping compan}; 
with men in those days who were heavily armed, but 
probably not without authority. 

Patterson's two conflicting statements further show 
that he deemed it his duty from the start to shield the 
Coopers. Judging by his close connection with them 
before and after the murder of Senator Caraiack, it is 
not strange that he had Duncan Cooper out looking for 
some one to swear to a lie to protect him in making good 
a promise made to that same Cooper. 

I doubt if any public official ever found himself in a 
predicament equal to that in which "Ham" Patterson 
placed himself by entering into that deal with his "close 
personal and political friends," which caused him to 
attempt to perjure law-abiding citizens of his state that 
he might have a place to stand after he had freed his 
criminal friends from a verdict visited upon them by a 
court in which they had a fair trial. 

Yet this man Patterson is still considered a factor in 
state politics, and every man of the liberal element is be- 
liind him. Thev condone his action and find excuse for 



AND Pool of Blood 1U3 

what he did. He has been more fortunate than was 
Taylor of Kentucky after the killing of Goebel in that 
state. Taylor was being found out so fast that he 
"skipped" his state in the night, after announcing the day 
before that he would not leave, but would remain and 
face any charges brought against him. Taylor was only 
playing for time, until darkness would fall and cover his 
movements. 

Darkness is going to fall in Tennessee some of these 
days, and there will be an exodus of criminals that will 
leave the good old state much more wholesome after it 
is well rid of them. 

The Taylor affair shows, however, just what men will 
do to play politics. Taylor, being a republican, hied to 
a republican state in company with his wife. An effort 
was made to bring him back, but the republican officials 
in Ohio w^ould not allow it, and President Taft, who 
was then a Federal Judge in that state, shielded him 
with a decision from the bench. A few weeks after that 
the Republican National Convention met in Philadelphia, 
and one of the first things it did after being called to or- 
der was to honor Fugitive Taylor's wife by making her a 
delegate-at-large of that convention, while her husband, 
charged with murder, received a great ovation by the 
delegates assembled there. 

The Taylor affair has nothing to do with what I have 
to say about the Tennessee killing, but it is so much like 
it that I could not refrain from mentioning it All I 
ask is that the reader compare the two and make his 
own deductions. 

The first thing I did after getting evidence tliat Pat- 
terson and Cooper would offer a bribe, even though they 
were trying to find proof — if sworn lies can be called 
proof — that others had given and received bribes, was to 
set about to give the public what I knew. 



104 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

To do this I first went to those who had been leaders 
on the law-and-order side in the state, for who would 
have doubted that the men who had so strongly opposed 
Patterson and his crowd, both on the stump and through 
the press, would have refused for one moment to assist 
in exposing the sly workings of Patterson and Cooper? 

I had every reason to believe that the men I had 
selected to assist me in communicating to the public the 
information I had would feel it their duty to unhesitat- 
ingly do all they could in getting the news to the people 
they had so thoroughly gotten the confidence of by 
claiming to be uncompromisingly for law and order. 

With this thought in mind I turned to Messrs. Jeff 
McCarn, Luke Lea and Bush Snead. Mr. McCarn was 
at that time attorney-general of Davidson County; Mr. 
Lea was the principal owner of the Nashville Tennes- 
seean, of which paper Mr. Carmack was editor at the 
time of his murder by the Coopers, which paper later 
became theTennesseean and American, Mr. Lea himself 
now being United States senator, having reached that 
high office through his battle for Carmack and the poli- 
cies he represented. Mr. Snead has always been active 
on the side of decency in politics. 

I notified these gentlemen by telephone that I wanted 
to see them in regard to a very important matter, and if. 
was agreed that we should meet in Mr. Snead's office in 
the Arcade. When we gathered there I made known 
to them what I wanted, assuring them in the outset that 
whatever expenses were necessary to carry out my dcr 
signs I was perfectly willing to meet myself, only asking 
them to use their influence with Mr. O. F. Noel in 
persuading him to pay me $800.00 additional and take 
my home as his own, he then holding a mortgage on it 
for $2,800.00, money I had used to defray the expenses 
of my race for mayor of Nashville as an independent. 



AND Pool of Blood 105 

I assured these gentlemen that I had a message for 
the people, and that if they would assist me in getting 
this additional money on my home that I would imme- 
diately rent the Ryman Auditorium and in an address 
to the people tell them of the bribe Duncan B. Cooper 
offered three men to swear to a lie to shield the gov- 
ernor of Tennessee, and also that governor's offer, 
through Cooper, of a pardon and the protection of the 
state militia to the men who would thus perjure them- 
selves. 

My plan was to make a complete exposure of the 
whole thing, and hold Patterson and Cooper up to the 
public gaze in their true light, and I did not think for a 
moment that these gentlemen, men who had been, and 
were then, leaders in the state of that faction which was 
opposed to the governor and his high-handed adminis- 
tration of affairs, and who looked upon the murder of 
Senator Carmack as a cold-blooded assassination, and 
not as a ''street duel," as it was termed by the Nashville 
American, which was then the mouthpiece of the inter- 
ests and the champion of the saloons and breweries. 

My talk with these gentlemen resulted in nothing, and 
a few days later Senator Lea reached me by telephone 
and requested that I come to his office. This I did, and 
on reaching there, Attorney-General McCarn was sum- 
moned. John Yeaman was there when I arrived, and 
Mr. McCarn came in shortly afterwards. 

Senator Lea made this suggestion: "As Colonel 
Cooper offered Mr. Yeaman $1,000.00 for his services, 
and as that remains unpaid, I would advise the filing of 
a bill in chancery, stating the affair in detail, and in this 
way bring it to the attention of the public." 

Mr. Yeaman and I thought this a tame way of getting 
at it, and we declined to act on the senator's suggestion. 



106 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

hoping to find a better way of giving it wider and more 
forceful publicity. 

I then went to the Attorney-General of Tennessee, 
the Honorable Chas. T. Gates, and while he admitted 
that the "money to the ceiling and protection from the 
governor" offer was a choice bit of startling news, he 
could not give me assistance in getting to the people the 
facts of an attempted dirty deal in extenuation of a 
dirtier act. Mr. Gates was free to say it was an astound- 
ing thing and should be given out, but that the proper 
thing to do was to hold it and get as much benefit from 
it for the independent wing of the democratic party -in 
Tennessee as possible. 

This was when the race between the independents and 
Patterson candidates for judges of the Givil Appeal and 
Supreme Gourts was in progress, and Mr. Gates sug- 
gested that as there was no likelihood of the latter 
approaching anywhere near success, the exploding of the 
bomb I had would not help our faction of the party at 
that time, inasmuch as that faction needed no help. He 
thought it best to wait until later and use it in tlie com- 
ing governor's election against Patterson, the man it 
would most expose. 

Still feeling that the people should know the facts in 
this case, regardless of the good it might do others by 
holding it for a future date, I went to United States 
Marshal John W. Overall. Mr. Overall thought it 
should be spread over the state, but was not in a position 
to say which was the best way in which to do it. 

By this time I had exhausted my list of men, either 
one of which I had at first thought would not let a mo- 
ment pass after becoming acquainted with the facts 
without making arrangements for assisting me in giving 
publicity to the secret planning of Patterson and Gooper 
to further impose on the people. 



AND Pool of Ulood 10 T 

Little did I think then that more than two years would 
pass before I could find a means of delivering my mes- 
sage, and I am sure the people will wonder why at least 
a few of the men I approached did not seize upon the 
opportunity to further substantiate some of the bitter 
charges they had made against Patterson relative to his 
connection with the murder of Carmack. 

I took a big chance to get at what I know by giving 
that interview to the Nashville American, and I have 
been severely condemned for it for the reason that the 
people did not know why I had taken such a step. 

If I had failed to make the discoveries I had taken 
such a risk to uncover, I would ever have remained a 
deserter in the eyes of my friends. To set myself right 
on this point is one of the principal reasons for produc- 
ing this book. I could not reach the people through the 
columns of the daily papers, and I was forced to lose a 
great deal of time in performing a duty I have so well 
known rested upon me, and, unwilling to wait longer, I 
have taken this means of spreading broadcast the story 
of Cooper's and Patterson's attempted bribery, as well 
as numerous other matters I had to speak of — matters 
that the people should know of and think about. 

Messrs. John Yeaman and F. O. Beerman will cor- 
roborate my statements as to Cooper's suggestion to 
swear a He and his offer of "money to the ceiling and 
protection from the governor,'' backed by the state mili- 
tia, if necessary. 

Duncan B. Cooper, convicted of the murder of Sena- 
tor Carmack and the "personal and political friend" of 
Malcolm R. Patterson, made that offer to us, Mr. Beer- 
man having been foreman of the jury which convicted 
him, jointly with his son, Robin, of murder in the second 
degree, giving them a sentence of twenty years each in 
the state prison of Tennessee. 



108 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

Twenty years or twenty minutes — it would have made 
no difference. It was never intended that they should 
serve the former, and surely the county jail was not 
even given the chance to hold them the latter length of 
time after the action of the Supreme Court of the State 
of Tennessee. There was a man in power then who 
defied the courts when they interfered with the liberty 
and actions of criminals who were his "close personal 
and political friends." In this case he took every ad- 
vantage .of that power and threw back in the face of the 
people a defiance that has not in any other place and time 
been equaled. 

From the elevation of Malcolm R. Patterson to the 
governorship of this state dates the beginning of Ten- 
nessee's moral decline, and by the assassination of Sena- 
tor E. W. Carmack by the Coopers and their subsequent 
pardon by Patterson, the Old Volunteer State became 
widely known for lawlessness, for since the days of 
"Ham's" free use of the pardoning power invested in 
him by right of his being governor by a body of men 
whose sense of justice and great knowledge caused their 
selection to write the constitution of the great state of 
Tennessee, it appears that their only mistake lies in the 
fact that they did not foresee that M. R. Patterson 
would become its chief executive and provide against 
any acts he might want to commit against society and 
decency. 

Yet with all this there are men in Tennessee, and 
women, too, for that matter, who will malign me and say 
that I should go to prison myself for saying the things 
I have about Patterson in this and other chapters, even 
though they will be convinced by his silence that he did 
have Duncan B. Cooper out offering money and a par- 
don and protection from him in advance to parties who 



AND Pool of Blood 109 

would swear a lie to give him a better excuse to pardon 
his "close personal and political friend" for the cow- 
ardly murder of United States Senator E. W. Carmack 
on a prominent street in Nashville on the afternoon of 
November 9, 1908. 

With a certain class of people in Tennessee M. R. 
Patterson stands high, and in the face of what he has 
done, and regardless of what he would do, however 
atrocious, he would still be protected and lauded by them. 
In their eyes he can do no wrong, and whatever he feels 
inclined to do in Tennessee he may do. With them he is 
greater than the state, its laws and its constitution. 
They look on him as the greatest thing in the state, and 
in their blind adherence to him they fail, or refuse, to see 
the shame his acts have brought to this great common- 
wealth. 

It is a bold assertion, but I shall make it, nevertheless : 
If Malcolm Patterson should see fit to adopt the method 
of Herod and order the death of all male infants in the 
state, that his rule might be prolonged, these same people 
would take issue with any one who did not agree that it 
was within his right. 

Tennessee has carried the burden of Patterson and 
Pattersonism until it is weighted to the earth with the 
load, so let us throw this off and never again let the 
former ''little game cock of democracy" have even so 
much as a look-in at any office in Tennessee, from the 
lowest to the highest, inclusive. 



110 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 



JOHN ISAAC COX. 

John Isaac Cox became governor of Tennessee at the 
time of the resignation of Governor James B. Frazier to 
become United States senator, he having been appointed 
to fill out the unexpired term of Senator William B. Bate 
at the time of the latter's death in 1905. 

Mr. Cox was speaker of the Tennessee senate at the 
time, and according to the provision of the state's 
constitution, the speaker of this body succeeds to the 
governorship in case of removal by death or any other 
cause of the duly elected governor. 

When the time arrived for Cox to bestir himself for 
election to succeed himself he began to show signs of 
being, or trying to be, a politician. The pitiful part of 
it was that Cox did not know the first principle of beino- 
a politician, and he made a sad blunder of it. 

Malcolm R. Patterson entered the field against him for 
the democratic nomination in 1906, and he and Cox went 
into the state convention in good faith. 

When one of the candidates before that convention 
failed to lend aid to the man who defeated him for the 
nomination, and even put up money to oppose his 
candidacy for governor, and by so doing assisted H. 
Qay Evans, republican nominee, he laid himself open to 
criticism. 

John I. Cox did this, and he began his preparations to 
fight Patterson before the last visiting delegate to the 
convention that nominated him had left the city for his 
home after doing his duty as a representative of his 
people. 



AND Pool of Blood 111 

He did this by establishing a weekly paper, the name 
of which was the Hermitage Democrat. This paper was 
financed by Cox while he was yet governor, and his 
business meetings with its editor and others connected 
with it were held in his apartments at the Tulane Hotel. 

The main and sole object of this paper was to fight 
Patterson, and this in his first race for governor. It 
was a sixteen-page four-column paper, and there were 
five thousand copies distributed weekly, the printing of 
which was let to the Lowe Publishing Company, of 
iNashville. J. B. Snodgrass, at that time publisher of 
the Sparta (Tenn.) Expositor, was its editor, and the late 
H. B. Miller, then assistant general counsel for the N., C. 
& St. L. R. R., and lobbyist for that corporation, and J. T. 
Odom, recently mayor of Lebanon, Tenn., were close 
advisers of the governor-publisher, and were daily in 
active touch with him and his paper. 

John H. McDowell, of Union City, Tenn., was at that 
time one of the strongest advocates of the principles 
the Hermitage Democrat was brought into being to 
propound. Because of his great desire to have this sheet 
widely read he took five hundred copies of it to Jackson, 
Tenn., and distributed them among the farmers who 
were attending a farmers' institute in session in that city 
at the time. He also solicited subscriptions from them 
for the paper. Later this man McDowell became a 
strong Patterson supporter, but not until the governor 
had appointed him state live stock inspector. The paper 
went out of existence after its eleventh weekly issue. 

It has not been publicly known that John I. Cox had 
anything whatever to do with the Hermitage Democrat, 
and he did not allow his name to be used in connection 
with it. He was fighting Patterson from under cover. 

Later, however, when the people came to know Pat- 



112 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

terson, there was seen some reason for getting him out 
of politics, but Cox might be said to be the original 
anti-Patterson man. 

Cox's antipathy to Patterson was later learned, and 
his position caused the latter a great deal of concern. 
Many overtures were made to the recalcitrant ex-gov- 
ernor for peace during Patterson's second race, but none 
was successful until "Major Duncan Brown Cooper, the 
diplomat of the political Zweibund," was sent into the 
opposing lord's country by his king, Malcom R. I, that 
superior workman succeeding in ''welding the wooden 
handle to the pewter spoon." John I. and Malcolm R. 
are at peace and so is Carmack. 

Patterson did not change his views, but John Isaac 
Cox and John H. McDowell changed theirs. 



AND Pool of Blood 113 



PATTERSON IN STATE POLITICS. 

In the spring of 1906 a dark and ominous cloud made 
its appearance on the western horizon of Tennessee — a 
miniature in magnitude when first coming into view, but 
rapidly growing in volume until it had assumed that 
peculiar funnel shape, indicating its character, which 
soon gained the force of a cyclone, and was pointing in 
the direction of the state capitol. Vivid streaks of light- 
ning and deafening peals of thunder emanated from this 
awful cloud until they reached the ears and blinded the 
eyes of the accidental governor of Tennessee. 

In other words, Malcolm R. Patterson announced 
himself a candidate for governor of Tennessee, and 
challenged John I. Cox to a joint discussion, in which he 
promised to prove, and did later prove, that the said John 
I. Cox was a villain of the deepest dye, a scoundrel 
without a parallel, a knave of the first water and justly 
entitled to a striped suit at the expense of the state. 

While declining a joint discussion because of the 
''pressure of official duties," as he put it, the accidental 
governor, while on the hustings, also proved that his 
competitor was a thief above all thieves, that he had 
obtained $10,000.00 from the government under false 
pretenses, and citing many other acts of like import, 
showing that his opponent was also entitled to free board 
and a free suit. 

Many people believed the charges of both, and agreed 
that a full measure of justice demanded that both be 
fed and clothed for a time at the expense of the state. 

Everyone is familiar with that meteoric campaign, 



114 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

which culminated in the nomination of Patterson by a 
mob gathered for that purpose, from all over the state, 
and assembled in a house once dedicated to the service 
of the living God by that matchless citizen and apostle, 
the ever to be lamented Sam. P. Jones. 

That gathering of the clans has been sometimes called 
a democratic convention, at which we are perfectly sure 
there were no monkeys, for they surely would have de- 
parted in disgust after having denied the parentage of 
such a disgraceful progeny. 

Finally, the chief noble grand moguls having arrived, 
the music sounded, the gavel pounded, and the ball was 
open. To undertake to give the minute details of that 
riot, rout and unlawful assembly would require the 
genius of a Dante, combined with the wisdom of a Socra- 
tes. Suffice it to say that an attempt was made to organ- 
ize the thing and give it a little semblance of 
respectability, but it was frustrated by hoots and yells 
midst waving of Patterson banners, calls from the grand 
high cockalorum for order and continuous pounding of 
the gavel, all drowned by an infernal din likened unto 
the shrieking of the damned chained in the darkest 
dungeons of purgatory. Finally the "Hon." Luke Lea, 
seeing danger ahead and fearing the defeat of his favor- 
ite, assumed command by virtue of his statute — and the 
knives and pistols that began to be in evidence at his 
back — amid a perfect pandemonium of unearthly howls, 
and the dance went on until it became apparent that the 
"Hon." Luke had bit off too big a slice and the whole 
affair was likely to end in a row. Then the happy 
thought occurred to this riotous cfew, who had worn out 
their lungs with their diabolical shouting, that they must 
agree to something or get no "Ham," so the "Hon." J. 
C. Bradford was chosen as peacemaker, who by fine arts 



AND Pool of Blood 115 

of diplomacy — of which he proved himself to be master 
— finally succeeded in stemming the tide and smoothing 
the waters to a degree that the fine hand of the "Hon." 
*'Beercroft" Murray, with his stentorian voice and match- 
less trickery, got the wheels lubricated and the old ma- 
chine was in motion. 

As some of the counties had the temerity to dispute 
the supremacy of M. R. P. over J. I. C, it became neces- 
sary to settle these questions before the title of M. R. P. 
over J. I. C. could be perfected, but a simple twist of 
the wrist and a "presto change" did the work. 

That this may be understood, in calling the counties 
the custom is to call them in alphabetical order, but when 
the crucial moment arrived and the question seemed to 
hang on the two counties of Davidson and Shelby (both 
contested), and when the admission of either would tip 
the scales for or against M. R. P. or J. I. C, whichever 
obtained the vote, and those in control feeling sure of 
Shelby for M. R. P., uttered the talismanic words, 
"presto change," the precedent was forgotten, the order 
changed, the list called upward and the sun set for J. 
I. C. while his mantle descended on the shoulders of 
M. R. P. A platform was then constructed for him to 
stand on, in v/hich some planks gave evidence of decay, 
but was considered strong enough not to endanger life 
or limb of the "Little Game Cock of Democracy," who 
had so ingloriously won his spurs. 

In due course of time the "Little Game Cock" was 
escorted to the stand with all the pomp and pride which 
could be mustered by a victorious army of the toughest 
hoodlums that ever assembled in the name of democracy 
or disgraced a state. When, midst the nerve-racking and 
demoniacal cheers of a then well-mellowed mob, he 
mounted the platform (which proved strong enough to 



116 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

hold him) where he at once began to expound to his 
motley crowd of "immaculate patriots" the undying 
principles of pure and unadulterated democracy (?), 
he told how the laws gave more power to the governor 
"than a good one would want or a bad one should have," 
all of which he would regulate when he became governor 
if he only got a legislature that would scotch up all of 
his patriotic efforts. 

Now, we hate to tell this, but truth demands in the 
stentorian tones of a Beercroft Murray that we shall. 
He got a legislature that would have endured the tor- 
tures of the damned in preference to the home of the 
saints, at his bidding. Yet not a suggestion as to the 
advisability of curtailing the power of the governor, and 
instead of wrecking the old democratic machine, which, 
by "hot air," he had consigned to a home with the 
demons, he at once proceeded to construct one in which 
the powers of darkness could trample into earth, from 
the most insignificant to the highest principle of right. 
But he was satisfied. His henchmen, falsely called 
"straight democrats," were satisfied, and the puppets 
whom they chose as representatives were satisfied, and 
"all went merry as a marriage bell" until the time rolled 
around for his title to be renewed. We will not go into 
that in detail. It would take a whole history crowded 
into a few months to narrate a minimum of the incidents 
of that memorable campaign, but we'll content ourselves 
with a few allusions to it. 

The first thing, of course, was to get the nomination. 
It will be remembered that the liquor issue had loomed 
up to the front, and his opponent in the primary stood 
on a state-wide primary platform, and how that his 
strongest argument was that he was as good a prohibi- 
tionist as his opponent was, if they put him on a state- 



AND Pool of Blood 117 

wide plank, which they could easily do by incorporating 
it in the platform, and that the plan gave them the right 
of choosing the delegates to make the platform. Hun- 
dreds of state-widers were foolish enough to swallow the 
bait, feeling perfectly sure that they could do that and 
preferring him under the circumstances. They elected 
the delegates all right and he found himself between the 
"devil and the deep blue sea," when, calling into counsel 
his leading henchmen, "The Hon. Beercroft" Murray, 
the talismanic words, "presto change," were brought into 
requisition and the thing was fixed, he claiming that an 
outrage had been perpetrated by electing Carmack men 
for delegates in counties which had given him majori- 
ties, the very thing that he had hypocritically held out to 
them that they had a perfect right to do, and which, to 
our unsophisticated mind, seems to be right if M. R. P. 
did advocate it. That the requisite number were denied 
admission to the convention and their places filled by 
others chosen at his dictum was admitted by him in a 
subsequent speech. When referring to the incident he 
said, "I prevented that outrage," thus arbitrarily and 
presumptuously assuming command of the democratic 
party — supposed to be public property, and using it to 
forward the interest of who? M. R. P.? Not by eight 
furlongs, but to advance the interests of the corporate 
and liquor bosses, who are his sole and only masters. 

Having secured the nomination by hypocrisy and 
treachery, he found a fight with the people awaiting him 
on the same issue, in part; one circumstance will suffice 
in that campaign. 

The deplorable Reelfoot Lake tragedy occurred. This 
was an opportunity of which he was quick to avail him- 
self. Overflowing with patriotic devotion to the prin- 
ciples of law and justice, and determined to avenge an 



118 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

outraged law, he jumped head foremost out of the polit- 
ical arena — where he was coining votes at a most rapid 
rate — and arbitrarily and without constituted authority, 
summoned the state guard, placed himself at its head, 
rolled up his pants, plunged into the slush, slime and 
mud of the Reel foot regions to avenge an atrocious 
crime by committing another. "Even though it resulted 
in his defeat," he couldn't stop to consider the effect on 
him personally. He must discharge the duty of main- 
taining law by violating law. He was advised in this by 
J. C. Bradford by letter, who told him he had no legal 
right to call out the state militia, but that he had best do 
it anyway, as it would virtually mean his election, and that 
the ignorance of the people would be a protection to him, 
in that they would think he was acting legally and laud 
him for his bravery and unselfishness in going to the lake 
region at the head of the state troops. 

Well, no consideration was needed, because M. R. P. 
is a very shrewd politician, and well knew that in the 
excited state of the public mind that splashing around in 
Reel foot mud would make more votes than expounding- 
democracy and turning the crank of the pardon mill 
together would. 

Well, he was elected and claimed that his election 
settled the question that the state was opposed to state- 
wide prohibition. Reader, just think for a moment. The 
liquor party that lime was caught napping and the state- 
widers elected a legislative majority at the same election, 
thus proving that another cause elected M. R. P. over 
G. N. T. At that time the Brownlow and Evans factions 
of the republican party were waging a bitter war and 
t^iousands of Brownlow men refused their support to 
G. N. T., and that's what elected M. R. P. 

He was again installed as governor, but was in a fix. 



AND Pool of Blood 119 

His friend, ''Beercroft," couldn't do anything with that 
legislature. The devil refused to play into his hands, 
and the state-wide law was placed on the statute books ; 
and the governor got mad, and as far as my information 
goes, stayed mad. ''Whom the gods would destroy they 
first make mad." 

Well, difficulties seemed to accumulate, with only one 
bright star of hope — he must become reconciled to 
J. I. C, because J. I. C. was a very influential man in his 
neck of the woods. Just how that reconciliation was 
brought about we don't know, but we do know that the 
lion and the dog have been made to blend together, that 
'they eat at the same trough, sleep in the same bunk, 
drink from the same gourd, and vote together to save the 
grand old democratic party, which promises purple and 
fine linen, with both pie and pudding, to all the faithful 
that shall ''endure to the end." 

It was really pathetic to read of J. I. C. introducing 
M. R. P. to an audience some time later in which he paid 
him the highest encomiums, which were responded to in 
like manner, in which M. R. P. spoke of J. I. C. as 
"distinguished ex-governor," though formerly political 
enemies. Now both were personal and political friends. 
"Oh how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to 
dwell together in unity." 

But it is far better to fill one house than to spoil two, 
and there's really no good reason why two thieves — each 
convicted by the evidence of the other — should not form 
a co-partnership, and work together to promote the 
interest of his imperial highness — his Satanic Majesty — 
their mutual benefactor. 

But we are ahead of our story. The "Hon." M. R. P. 
having had his commission renewed, was but fairly 
started in his second administration when the deplorable 



120 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

tragedy occurred which quenched one of the brightest 
Hghts in the nation. But that will be discussed in another 
chapter, and we only refer to it here to make the proper 
connection with subsequent events. To what extent the 
governor was mixed in that affair no one knows, and 
the opinion of people differ, but they do know that work 
in the governor's interest by Duncan B. Cooper was the 
primary cause of the murder, and that if no other cause 
existed, made it imperative and expedient for the gov- 
ernor to see to it that no harm came to the murderers. 
He was thus placed between the ''devil and the deep blue 
sea" again. He was bound to pardon the Coopers if the 
case reached him, knowing that such action would meet 
the condemnation of almost the entire country — with 
the exception of such as were willing to condone murder 
where they considered it a political necessity. But there 
was a gleam of hope that he might escape the responsi- 
bility if such evidence could be procured as to cause a 
packed jury to grant an acquittal. But they failed to get 
the jury packed, though it was thought to be by the com- 
munity generally, and undoubtedly by the counsel for 
the defense. It was a matter of record how that trial 
resulted, and that the defendants were given the benefit 
of the doubt in all the rulings of the court. At an abso- 
lutely fair and legal trial the two Coopers were con- 
victed of murder in the second degree and sentenced to 
twenty years in the state prison, and there is not a man 
in the state (no matter what they say), or in the United 
States for that matter, that didn't believe that it was a 
merciful verdict his excellency, the governor, included. 
But the trouble was not removed from his excellency's 
shoulders. Of course, the matter must pass the supreme 
court and the governor thought there was still a thread 
of hope for him. He just must get these murderers out 



AND Pool of Blood 121 

of trouble. His term was drawing near its close and the 
supreme court was not moving fast enough in the case. 
Something must be done. 

The pubHc is familiar with the schemes employed to 
induce the courts to act in the case; how the party lash 
was held up to their vision, which resulted in the inde- 
pendent judicial race, and how the governor was forced 
— as he claimed — to be a candidate to vindicate himself, 
where everyone knew that it was to vindicate the 
Coopers. 

Well, the court finally gave out the decision, vindicat- 
ing the judgment of the lower court as to Duncan B. 
Cooper and remanding Robin's case on a technicality. 

No one was surprised. On the contrary it was freely 
predicted that the pardon would come that day — it came 
the same hour. No petition had been presented — none 
was required. Was not the governor an eminent law- 
yer? Had he not gone thoroughly into the merits of the 
case and decided that the jury who passed on the case 
were either knaves or fools, and that the supreme court 
was akin to them ? Certainly, and he decided in seventy- 
two minutes that which took the supreme court seventy- 
two days to decide, and yet there are those uncharitable 
enough to believe that the governor decided it in less 
than two minutes, and that, in all probability, before the 
murder. 

Well, the case of Duncan B. had ended, but Robin 
was still in danger, and the governor was perplexed — 
his term would soon expire. The chances were against 
another renewal. Court delays were to be considered 
and his excellency was not sure that the case in the regu- 
lar routine could reach him in time if he failed to again 
secure the plum. 

He could think of no plan to save Robin, feeling sure 



122 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

that Attorney-General Jeff McCarn would, if possible, 
hold off the case until the end of his tenure. 

But fate came to his aid. Judge Hart was suddenly 
stricken and died, and the way was clear. No man 
would receive the appointment to that position only with 
an implied understanding that the case against Robin 
Cooper be dismissed. Now, why do I make this state- 
ment? It is said that circumstantial evidence is the best 
evidence ; that circumstances can't lie and men can. Now 
take all the circumstances in connection with that 
appointment, the governor's o'erweaning desire, and 
many believe, necessity to clear, this defendant, the fine 
opportunity to get it accomplished. Then consider the 
outrageous juggling with truth, law, and equity to ac- 
complish it (which is detailed in another chapter). Then 
can there be a doubt that Judge Neil's appointment was 
conditioned on the promise to acquit Robin Cooper, one 
of the murderers of Senator Carmack? 

Thus by the power and influence of this man two 
atrocious murderers were turned loose without a penalty 
imposed on them, and strange as it may seem, large num- 
bers who claim to be good citizens are also Patterson 
men, and would give him their vote and support for any- 
thing that he would ask for, although the most prominent 
newspapers throughout the entire nation justified the 
verdict and condemned the pardon. Well, his excellency, 
seeing that not only him, but Tennessee through him, 
was held in contempt by the better element all over the 
country, and being possessed of the brass of the devil, 
felt it incumbent on him to again become a candidate that 
he might have the opportunity to vindicate himself and 
boldly proclaimed that he was in the fight to the finish, 
but in an incredible short space of time, having received 
the interpretation of the writing on the wall, was sud- 



AND Pool of Blood 123 

denly stricken with party patriotism in an acute form, 
and returned his nomination to the source from whence 
it came, giving as his reason that as he was the bone of 
contention, his sense of patriotism would not allow him 
to jeopardize the success of the party for the promotion 
of any personal ends, and as a drowning man would drop 
a straw to catch at a log, so the governor let go that 
which he knew was not worth thirty cents in the open 
market, that he might get hold on something of more 
value later on. Just what that is we are left to conjec- 
ture, but judging by the manner in which he is flirting 
with all factions, we surmise that Newell Sanders' place 
would soothe his sorrows, seeing that it would give scope 
for the display of his mighty powers, while furnishing 
the opportunity to heal the breach with his old friend, 
Senator Luke Lea. 

Now, if we may be allowed to suggest, if Tennessee 
desires to assume her rightful place 'mongst the state 
in this glorious Union, she must use her sovereign 
suffrage in a different manner. She must repudiate 
men who will accept honors at the hands of a disgraceful 
mob, or who will make hypocritical promises to get 
elected and afterward utterly ignore them. She must 
find material for her governors whose high moral char- 
acter cannot be impeached. She must select men who 
have given evidence of a faith that in a strict adherence 
to the mandates of the law is the only guarantee of the 
safety of person or property. She must choose gov- 
ernors who will not be parti-ceps-criminis to disgraceful 
political intrigues with unscrupulous demagogues; men 
whose character will stand the test of miscroscopic in- 
spection and be free from spots or blemishes ; men who 
will not use the pardoning power as a political asset and 
deluge the state with a horde of thieves and murderers 



124 Tennessee*s Pond of Liquor 

to prey on the lives and property of her citizens; men 
whose official acts require no apology; men who esteem 
honor more than life, ambition or the acquisition of 
wealth; men who realize that they are the servants, and 
not the master, of their creators, and last, but not least, 
their responsibility to God for their every act. 

When her citizens realize these truths and cast their 
suffrage accordingly, then, and not until then, shall old 
Tennessee regain her lost prestige, the sun of peace shall 
dwell in her rock-ribbed hills, and the dews of prosperity 
descend on her valleys, while the peans of her songsters 
bid happiness to reign supreme. 



AND Pool of Blood 125 



PATTERSON'S EXPLANATION. 

When Patterson opened his campaign for a third term 
as governor of Tennessee at the Ryman Auditorium in 
Nashville, and which he was later compelled to abandon 
because of public feeling against him, I attended out of 
curiosity. 

It was after he had pardoned his friend, Duncan B. 
Cooper, one of the murderers of Senator Carmack. I 
wanted to hear from his own lips an attempted justifica- 
tion of this terrible act of his. 

I was sick at the time and had been confined to my 
bed, but my anxiety to hear this man explain his own act 
in granting that pardon impelled me to go, at whatever 
cost to myself physically. 

The auditorium was packed and I figured that about 
half of the people in attendance were there for the same 
purpose I was. Not only the whole state, but the entire 
nation, was listening with straining ears for a statement 
from Governor M. R. Patterson, the man higher up, who 
had been so closely identified with the death of Carmack, 
both politically and as an avowed friend of the mur- 
derers, even having been with them the day of the kill- 
ing and later being called as a witness at their trial. 

The rest of the audience I was sure was composed of 
the governor's followers, and they later showed their 
blind adherence to this disrupter of peace in Tennessee 
when he began his speech so fraught with disregard for 
his recent political opponent, who had gone down on one 
of Nashville's principal streets and before a volley of 



126 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

bullets fired from pistols in the hands of the speaker's 
closest political allies. 

When I left there I knew Patterson was capable of 
being party to such a deed, and by his own words he 
should be found guilty in the minds of all men who are 
not so biased as to fail to see things correctly. 

This may be thought to be too severe by some, but 
why should we be so weak as to let a man do the things 
it seems there is no doubt Patterson has done and remain 
quiet about it? 

Who is this man that the people of Tennessee should 
be afraid to give speech to their honest convictions? It 
is, or was, common talk on the streets of every city and 
hamlet in the United States that Patterson knew of the 
time that Carmack was to be shot down. It is still com- 
mon talk on the streets of Tennessee's villages and larger 
cities. 

Had he not been prominent as an official and occupied 
the position as a leader, he would have been arrested as 
an accomplice with half the rumors afloat regarding his 
connection with this crime. Men higher up in the af- 
fairs of their country have committed deeds more 
dastardly than was the murder of Carmack, with even a 
less reason for the riddance of their victims, and it is no 
strange thing that it should happen in this day and time 
in a civilized country. It occurs in other civilized coun- 
tries today, and we should not expect to escape it ; and 
neither have we escaped it. 

On several occasions I have heard the argument, "Pat- 
terson would not have been a party to such an act 
because of his intelligence. He could have foreseen the 
consequences of such a thing and would not have walked 
into it." 

This is a very slim defense of the ex-governor. If he 



AND Pool of Blood 127 

were too intelligent to do such a thing, or even be a 
party to it, would not that same intelligence which is 
said by those who look for some excuse for this man, 
who is so badly in need of one, would have been a bar- 
rier to his becoming a party to the conspiracy to take 
the life of Carmack, be the means of his taking part in 
it? Is it not reasonable to suppose that if he was too 
intelligent to risk his hide in the enactment of the crime 
that he would also be sufficiently intelligent to see that 
his official position could be used to right matters and 
later set all concerned free? 

Did he not use that same position, given him at the 
hands of a trusting people, to arrest for all time the 
hand of Justice as it was gripping two of the criminals 
preparatory to meting out to them a punishment which 
had been decided by a court as that which was justly 
due them? 

If Patterson possessed brains enough to see that he 
could not afford to entangle himself in this aflfair, why 
did he not exercise that power with which he is reputed 
to be so blessed in persuading his "close friends'* not to 
commit the murder they did for the reason that his name 
would of necessity be dragged into it because of his 
connection with 4;hem ? According to his own statement 
he knew that Duncan Cooper had spoken of taking the 
life of Carmack, so why didn't he bring into play that 
great "intellect" of his and put a stop to those proceed- 
ings before the murder took place ? 

No, Patterson was too intelligent. Had he been less 
so he could not have so intelligently measured the future 
and foreseen how easily the perpetrators of this foul 
crime, and all others having prior knowledge of it, could 
have escaped the law and the opinion of an outraged 
populace. 



128 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

The truth of the matter is, he was intelHgent enough 
to see that the very intelligence he was the possessor of 
would be voluntarily accepted as a proof that he had not 
been a party to the conspiracy. 

The Coopers are intelligent and were certainly pos- 
sessed of brains enough to know that without the assist- 
ance of another intelligence, coupled with theirs, they 
could not gain their freedom after committing the deed. 
They had this assistance and were not deserted by it. 

A man who is so dense he cannot see the connection 
needs a guardian, or should be placed in some institution 
where the mentally irresponsible are lodged for safe- 
keeping. 

I was further convinced of my correctness in this 
when I heard Patterson's speech I had gone to the 
auditorium to hear, as stated at the first of this chapter. 
This was his first public appearance after his pardon of 
Duncan Cooper, convicted of the murder of Senator E. 
W. Carmack and sentenced to twenty years in the Ten- 
nessee state prison by the criminal court of Davidson 
County, and which verdict was later affirmed by the su- 
preme court, the highest tribunal in the state. 

This man of gall mounted the platform that evening 
and began his remarks. Everything was expectancy, 
for it was announced in advance that he would offer 
some justification for his act in issuing the pardon to 
his friend. This excuse he clothed in a very few words, 
but a more anarchistic statement never issued from the 
lips of man. When he reached this in his remarks he 
only had this to say: 

"Yes, I pardoned Colonel Cooper, my political and 
personal friend, and I am glad that I did it." 

When he delivered himself of this cold-blooded state- 
ment in tones that reached to every corner of the vast 



AND Pool of Blood 129 

building in which he was, there went up a howl of ap- 
proval from the throats of the hundreds of lawless 
citizens gathered there to hear their adored leader that 
would have done credit to a band of careless Romans 
watching the ravages of wild beasts as they devoured 
innocent and helpless Christians in the time of Nero. It 
was an occasion more suited to the barbarous ages than 
to a civilized time. 

That this man Patterson had not a particle of feeling 
in his heart for Carmack and his bereaved ones, and the 
thousands of the senator's friends in Tennessee, was not 
doubted by anybody, not even those who were followers 
of the whisky governor. His statement in loud acclaim 
in the auditorium at Nashville was proof enough of this, 
but when he later entered Columbia, where lay pillowed 
the murdered Carmack on the breast of the Southland 
he so loved, and where yet the widow and son were 
weeping for the husband and father so dear to them, 
with much noise and pomp and very much like a bar- 
barous chieftain who walks proudly over the lifeless 
bodies of his vanquished enemies, holding high his ban- 
ner and inviting praise from his humble subjects, the 
people were further convinced that the governor, the 
liberator of his political opponent's slayers, was utterly 
devoid of any feeling for the slain or bereft. 

On this occasion Patterson went to Columbia to fill a 
speaking date and the trip was made from Nashville in 
an automobile. In the governor's party was John D. 
Sharpe, one of the men indicted for the murder of Car- 
mack. Sharpe was his bodyguard before and after the 
murder. Who filled this office while he was in jail is 
not publicly known, but whoever it was he was not as 
good a servant as Sharpe, for when the latter was re- 
leased from custody he was placed at his old post. 



130 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

If Patterson had had a particle of respect for Senator 
Carmack and those near him, the least he could have 
done to show it would have been to enter with quietness 
the town in whose beautiful cemetery reposed the sena- 
tor's bullet-scarred remains, and wherein resided his 
wife and boy. 

But this was not the case. As he passed into the 
peaceful and thriving capital of Maury County it was 
with much noise, and while the peals of martial music 
from the brass band heralding his coming rent the air 
and echoed and re-echoed among the shafts of granite 
and stone in beautiful Rose Hill cemetery and played- 
about the grave of Carmack, the little sandy-haired 
chieftain, whose political star was then on the wane, 
marched on through the city his "close personal friends" 
had so recently caused to mourn by ruthlessly taking the 
life of their most noted fellow townsman and the nation's 
most illustrious statesman, while perched up beside him 
as a distinguished member of his party, was one of the 
indicted murderers, John D. Sharpe. 

What do you think of this reader? Is that like the old 
Tennessee. you knew when a boy? 



AND Pool of Blood 131 



EDWARD WARD CARMACK. 

Edward Ward Carmack was born in Sumner County, 
Tennessee, November 5, 1858. He was a graduate of 
the Webb School at Bellbuckle, Tenn., but at the time 
Mr. Carmack was enrolled as one of its pupils the school 
had its home at Culleoka, Tenn. 

After studying law and being admitted to the bar, 
he began the practice of his profession at Columbia, 
Tenn. In 1884 he was elected representative of Maury 
and Williamson counties in the Tennessee General As- 
sembly. In 1886 he joined the Nashville American force 
and was on the editorial staff of that paper two years. 
In 1888 he left the American to become editor-in-chief 
of the Nashville Democrat. This paper later consoli- 
dated with the American, and Mr. Carmack was selected 
to be the chief editor of the combined dailies. In April, 
1890, he was married to Miss Elizabeth Dunnington, of 
Columbia, Tenn. To them one son was born, Edward, 
Jr., being known in Columbia as "Little Ned." 

This boy was the pride of his father, and the great 
senator and statesman could be seen sitting for hours at 
a time on the veranda of his home in Columbia on balmy 
spring and summer days with this boy perched upon his 
knee. They never seemed to tire of each other, and 
while Mr. Carmack was not called away by official du- 
ties, he was at home with his wife and child. The love 
that plainly existed between father and son in this in- 
stance was inspiring. The sorrow I know must have 
come into this little heart because of the ruthless murder 



132 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

of his father touches me more deeply than the assassina- 
tion of his beloved parent. 

In 1892 Mr. Carmack went to Memphis, where he had 
accepted the editorship of the Commercial. This paper 
later combined with the Appeal, he becoming editor-in- 
chief of the Commercial Appeal. 

In 1896 he was elected representative in Congress 
from the Tenth Congressional District, in which Mem- 
phis is located. In his race at this time he had as an 
opponent Josiah Patterson, who had served several terms 
in Congress and who was the father of M. R. Patterson, 
who later became governor of Tennessee as a Democrat 
and whose two administrations so disrupted the state 
that the effects of it will be felt for many years to come. 

The votes cast in Mr. Carmack's first race for Con- 
gress were pretty equally divided between himself and 
Mr. Patterson, and it was necessary for Congress to 
decide which was entitled to a seat in that body. After 
much deliberation Mr. Patterson was declared to be the 
rightful one to fill it. After the matter seemed to be 
settled, Mr. Carmack arose, and with his matchless elo- 
quence, showed plainly that he, and not his opponent, 
was the one really entitled to the seat, whereupon Mr. 
Patterson was unseated and Mr. Carmack seated. 

Mr. Carmack served two terms in Congress. His 
aggressiveness and brilliancy while a member of that 
body attracted the whole nation. The stalwart young- 
congressman from Tennessee easily took a place among 
the brainiest of those who served with him. By his elo- 
quence and his logic he placed himself on a high plane, 
and the people of his state were proud of him and his 
achievements. 

At the close of his second term, 1900, the time for 
electing a United States senator was at hand. Carmack 



AND Pool of Blood 133 

became an aspirant for this higher office, and, as he 
had made such a good record in the lower house, he 
had no trouble in securing the election as senator at the 
hands of the legislature. 

At the end of this term, 1906, Mr. Carmack was op- 
posed for re-election by Robert L. Taylor. They agreed 
to go before the people of the state in a primary for 
the nomination, the latter defeating the former by a few 
thousand votes. A few days before the close of this 
memorable campaign. Senator Carmack, in a letter to 
Mrs. Carmack at Columbia, predicted his defeat by five 
thousand votes. How well he knew what he was talking 
about can be plainly seen by a look at the records of 
votes cast in that primary. 

There is not a day that passes since the blood of the 
peerless Carmack, made to flow by an assassin's bullet, 
dampened the ground on that now hallowed spot on Sev- 
enth avenue, Nashville, Tennessee, that many interested 
and grieving strangers do not visit the scene of the la- 
mented Senator's last moments on earth, where he was 
shot down almost without warning in the prime of his 
manhood and in the midst of his usefulness to his state 
and country as a leader and statesman. 

Stand on that spot, stranger, and you will have whis- 
pered to you from somewhere unknown a sweet story 
of how a noble soul was freed from its tenement of clay 
and wafted to fields more vast and missions more holy. 

Look at the wire-wrapped pole and there will come 
to you many imaginings, and when, in your mind's eye, 
you picture the prostrate form, as it fell limp from the 
cruel bullets that passed through it from the rear as it 
faced a threatened danger in front, you will become sick- 
ened at the thought of the heartlessness of men and won- 
der if your race is degenerating instead of advancing, 



134 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

dnd that if it carries back to its furry forefathers such 
traits as the picture you have drawn shows you as being 
in the character of such members of the human family as 
you know committed the deed enacted on the spot 
where you now stand that sombre November afternoon, 
you will feel that the species from which many eminent 
scientists aver we have sprung will be more disgraced 
when finally we rejoin it on our downward course than it 
is honored by being the source to which man, that most 
perfect of all animals, traces his origin. 

Do you not feel the presence of his great spirit as you 
stand there and recall the whole affair to mind? 

Do you not experience the peculiar sensation of being 
on sacred ground when you remember the greatness of 
the man whose life ebbed away there on that spot, while 
the pistols of his assassins were yet smoking, and while 
the reports of the five shots which rang out that fateful 
November afternoon were yet reverberating up and down 
the city's thoroughfares and through its busy marts? 

Take notice of your surroundings and you will see 
that you are standing on a diagonal line between two 
magnificent and imposing structures, one the Young 
Men's Christian Association and the other the Young 
Women's Christian Association. 

These buildings are dedicated to the uplifting and 
Christianizing of young men and women, and there could 
not have been more suitable locations selected for their 
erection than where they now stand as guardians over 
the spot where fell Carmack, he who had been the peer 
of all in the world's body of most noted lawmakers. 

It was not by the planning of man that these two con- 
secrated masses of brick and mortar o'ershadow the spot 
that pillowed the head of the dying gifted author of 
"Character," that masterpiece so full of valued and price- 



AND Pool of Blood 135 

less advice to youth who is seeking a rule of conduct by 
which the pitfalls so plentiful in the path of erring man 
are avoided and life is made more sweet by its following. 

It was a higher power which brought this about, and it 
is more than a coincidence that the residence of the 
great martyr, where still live his wife and son, is only 
separated by a fence from the home of President James 
K. Polk, at the time that gentleman was nominated as 
a candidate for the high office which he later filled, and 
that the Senator met death at the hands of assassins in 
front of the site of Polk's Nashville home. 

Fog and smoke hung low to the earth on the day of 
Carmack's murder, and while this shroud enveloped the 
tragical scene a gentle rain fell from the grayish clouds 
above — the very heavens weeping for the matchless char- 
acter who was then to give up his life for the cause 
he represented and for the people for whom he had gal- 
lantly fought. 

When the death of Carmack was decreed by those who 
feared him, there could not have been a better day for 
committing the deed than Monday, November 9, 1908. 

If honor, fidelity to principle, a clear conception of 
right, and the courage to defend it, ever had a throne 
uncorrupted and incorruptible, it was in the breast of 
Edward Ward Carmack. 

Carmack was a credit to the state, and the whole world 
knew of Tennessee's able and eloquent senator. He had 
made his state famous by representing it in the halls 
of congress. He never lost an opportunity to strike a 
blow for his home and the Southland. 

To give the reader a better idea of the greatness of 
Carmack, we quote the following from the gifted pen of 
"Savoyard" (E. W. Newman), the best living authority 
on public men and live measures : 



136 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

"And the king said unto his servants: *Know ye not 
that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in 
Israel?'" 

Whether this man was more richly endowed with those 
qualities for which good men loved him than he was 
bounteously gifted with those attributes for which intel- 
lectual men admired him will never be known. He was 
the most brilliant mind with which my mind ever had 
personal commune, and he was the knightliest man whose 
hand my hand ever clasped. He was the greatest son of 
the South during his entire public career, and the North, 
as bitterly as the South, is filled with indignant horror 
over the deep damnation of his taking off. 

They who slew him builded fatefuller than they knew, 
for they completed Tennessee's immortal trio of demi- 
gods in Valhalla — Andrew Jackson, Nathan Bedford 
Forrest and Edward Ward Carmack. The legislature 
of Tennessee owes it to the good men and women of 
that State, and to the entire South, to take measures to 
have carved out of purest Carrara a statue of Carmack 
to place in the hall of the old House of Representatives 
at Washington to serve for exemplar that the youth of 
future generations may strive to emulate his nobility of 
character and rival his splendor of genius. 

But Carmack survives in millions and millions of 
Southern hearts, and his influence is more puissant in 
death than it even was in life. 

Just fifty years and four days old, on that fateful Mon- 
day, November 9, Edward Ward Carmack had scarce 
emerged from his physical prime and was just entering 
into his intellectual zenith. Without any loss of bril- 
liancy, he was daily augmenting and solidifying his trans- 
cendent intellectual powers, and the golden promises of 
an exuberant efflorescence was then yielding a harvest 
of plenty beyond the dreams of hope itself. 



AND Pool of Blood 137 

In a twinkling he was cut down, and all without warn- 
ing, as he was peacefully on his way from the place 
where he worked to the place where he slept, and thus he 
fills a martyr's grave, because he was a man whose pen 
dared to write what his heart dared forge — one who 
never feared to look on the face of man. When we con- 
template the trivial provocation pleaded by those who 
so savagely took his life, we cannot but agree with Bishop 
Hoss that Carmack was murdered, not for what he had 
written, but for what it was feared he would write. 

He was a scholar, and a ripe and good one; 
Exceeding wise, fair-spoken, and persuading; 
Lofty and sour to them that loved him not; 
But to those men who sought him as sweet as summer. 

Great as Carmack was in either House of Congress, 
eloquent as he was on the stump, powerful as he was as 
an advocate before "twelve men in a box," he was yet 
made for the editorial chair of a widely read independ- 
ent political newspaper. Like Clement L. Vallanding- 
ham, Carmack was too positive and too intense a nature 
to gain a great place at the bar, except before the jury. 
Unlike the politician, the lawyer cannot choose his cause, 
and Carmack was a man who could not argue a brief 
in the rectitude of which he had little faith. He had the 
intellect to command the logic, and the mind to analyze 
a legal principle; but he did not have the temperament 
of a lawyer, as did Ben Hill, or Matt Carpenter, or Allen 
G. Thurman, or John G. Carlisle. 

Hence it was perfectly natural for Carmack to aban- 
don the bar for the forum. He became an editor, and 
no more gifted pen ever reinforced that noble profes- 
sion. Perhaps our country has produced but two per- 
fect newspaper men — Charles A. Dana and Joseph B. 



138 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

McCiilloch — possibly Henry J. Raymond might be added 
to the list. These were as great as writers as they were 
as gatherers of news. Carmack was not a news man ; but 
as a commentator on events and on men, as the advocate 
of living principles, American journalism has rarely 
known his equal, and never known his superior. One 
of his favorite authors was Edgar Allan Poe, and with 
the exception of Poe, the first man of letters of our 
hemisphere, I do not believe Edward Ward Carmack 
ever had a superior in America in the mastery of the 
expression of the English tongue. He was a dull man 
who would not forego a night's sleep to hear Ned Car- 
mack recite "Annabel Lee." 

But before Carmack laid hand on Poe he had drank 
copiously at the richest fount of our speech, the English 
Bible. Except Benjamin F. Butler, I recall no man in 
our public life who quoted so frequently and so aptly 
from Sacred Writ as he. He reveled in the Psalms, 
and in the pulpit he would have been another Simpson, 
perhaps another Campbell. In the editorial chair he was 
far more than a gifted writer. He was a student and a 
thinker. But he was more, infinitely more than that, 
than these, than all — he believed something, and like 
another Luther, he would go to Worms though it were 
to his death, and so he did, and so he was a martyr to 
duty and to country. 

Though an editor were Hazlitt, Macaulay and Hume 
combined, and had no belief except as the wind listeth, 
he would be a Samson without his locks — one Greeley, 
or one Carmack, worth ten thousand like him. To con- 
vince others one must himself be convinced, to move 
others, one must himself be moved. It was his charac- 
ter and his beliefs that made Carmack the force he was. 
that commanded the love of millions, and pity 'tis 'tis 
true, that brought him to an untimely grave. 



AND Pool of IJlood 139 

In the national councils Carmack took the place left 
vacant by the transfer of Lamar to the cabinet ancl the 
bench. Though so prodigally endowed by nature, Car- 
mack trod no royal road of civic eminence. The rich 
soil of his mind was ceaselessly cultivated. He burned 
the midnight oil in communing with the mighty minds 
that had left their impress on the world, and while others 
slept he delved in the lore of past ages, digested and 
assimilated the wisdom of those who had gone before. 
That was what made him so formidable and so ready in 
debate. That was what made him feared in intellectual 
combat as neither Ingalls nor Reed was feared. 

One cannot compare Carmack and Ben Hill, or Car- 
mack and Judah P. Benjamin, or Carmack and James S. 
Green. Pie was as different from Robert Tooms as the 
rapier of Critchton from the hammer of Thor. Withal 
he had the heart of Burke to sympathize with suffering 
and to hate cruelty everywhere. His speech in loathing 
and denunciation of "Hell-roaring Jake" Smith's infa- 
mous order in the Philippines was as lofty a specimen of 
indignant eloquence as ever the United States Senate 
heard. 

"And this," he exclaimed, "the President tells us, is 
'benevolent assimilation !' " 

"And how would the senator characterize it?" de- 
manded Foraker. 

Quick as a flash came the retort, "I call it malevolent 
annihilation." 

Carmack was not the constitutional lawyer that Car- 
lisle was, for his genius did not trend that way, and for 
the same reason he had not the mastery of economic 
subjects possessed by John Sharp Williams, but in a great 
constitutional debate he would have been an invaluable 
lieutenant to Carlisle, and to Williams he would have 



140 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

brought aid like that Blucher carried to Wellington. In 
the fundamentals he was all that Carlisle or Mills was, 
but he had devoted the study to history and to literature 
that they brought to detail to law and economy. 

Lamar had a more riotous imagination than Carmack ; 
and I am persuaded that had Carmack been as much of 
a dreamer as was Lamar, and indulged in more introspec- 
tion he would have been a more extraordinary man than 
he was; but Carmack was a man of action as well as a 
man of thought, and as a soldier he would have been as 
superb on the field as he was great as a lawgiver in the 
senate. He was a born leader, and Isham G. Harris was 
the only man he ever saw of whom he was content to be 
a follower. The time Lamar spent in dreaming Car- 
mack devoted to work — reading or writing. In com- 
mittee Lamar was often inert; but Carmack was a posi- 
tive force there. In open senate, when both were aroused 
to action, they were equals — Lamar the finer imagina- 
tion, Carmack the 'more caustic wit, the more rollicking 
humor. In diction the scale nearly balanced between 
them. 

Carmack was ten years in congress — four in the house 
and six in the senate. Ben Hill served two years in 
the house and five in the senate. Except Lamar, I doubt 
if any other American ever made so enviable a reputa- 
tion in so limited a service as Hill and Carmack. Hill 
was there but seven years to Carmack's ten, but his 
opportunities were greater. Carmack had no such theme 
and no such adversary as Hill encountered when he 
utterly crushed Blaine in the debate of the general 
amnesty resolution. Nor did Carmack have the chance 
that came to Hill when he annihilated Mahone. Per- 
haps no other Southerner since the war, unless Carlisle 
or Eustis was he, could have contended with Carpenter 



AND Pool of Blood 141 

as Hill did on the constitutional question involved in the 
debate of the contested election of senators from 
Louisiana. 

But all in all, John T. Morgan's estimate is just and 
it will hold — that Carmack was the most brilliant man 
the senate knew for the thirty years that Morgan was 
a senator. 

If I was asked to cite the most beautifully pathetic 
and the most loftily patriotic burst of eloquence that ever 
fell from the Hps of an American orator, I should tender 
Carmack's tribute to the South. It was my happy for- 
tune to hear it as it fell from his ''iron lips." Though 
then his poHtical enemy — I a goldbug — I was transfixed 
with wonder that turned to rapture ere he had finished 
the noble sentiment. The entire house was entranced — 
Republicans as much as Democrats — and even the stern 
and synical Reed gazed on the orator and drank in the 
words as one bewitched. I have seen the house moved to 
more tumultuous applause by William L. Wilson and 
Bourke Cochran, but never in my time — now more than 
thirty years — -has that house been so profoundly im- 
pressed, so deeply stirred, as when Carmack bowed and 
sat down that day. There were too many tears for riot. 

I know I shall be pardoned for inserting it here: 

'The South is a land that has known sorrows; it is a 
land that has broken the ashen crust and moistened it 
with its tears ; a land scarred and riven by the plowshare 
of war and billowed with the graves of her dead, but a 
land of legend, a land of song, a land of hallowed and 
heroic memories. To that land every drop of my blood, 
every fiber of my being, every pulsation of my heart is 
consecrated forever. I was born of her womb ; I was nur- 
tured at her breast, and when my last hour shall come 
I pray God I may be pillowed upon her bosom and 



142 TexNtnessee's Pond of Liquor 

rocked to sleep within her tender and encircling arms.'' 
I have one suggestion to make, one prayer to offer — 
that every Southern mother teach her child, the pride of 
her home, aj\d the hope of her land, to repeat that match- 
less passage. Plant it in his memory when it is young 
and plastic. It cannot but lead him to noble thoughts 
and generous impulses. 

Genius, statesman, orator, publicist, patriot, gentle 
man, Christian, farewell — "the first Southerner of his 
day!" is thy epitaph! 



AND Pool of Blood 143 



A REAL MAN'S SACRIFICE TO DUTY. 

Gov. Hooper has granted a conditional pardon to Mell 
Maples of Sevier County. Maples was convicted on the 
charge of murder, in 1907, and sentenced to a term of 
fifteen years in the penitentiary. The recommendation 
for his pardon was signed by about 1,800 citizens of 
Sevier County, the trial jury, trial judge, and attorney- 
general. Maples is in a low state of health, due to con- 
sumption, and new evidence has been discovered that 
would probably have resulted in a less severe sentence. 
Maples is now about 27 years old. In a letter to the 
governor, his father wrote the following: 

"I could have gotten him out by sacrificing principle 
and manhood, but I stood for the right, and trusted to 
the Lord that right would prevail after I had done my 
duty." 

The conditions imposed are that the prisoner shall 
abstain from the use of intoxicating liquors, and shall 
stay away from places where such liquors are sold; that 
he shall not gamble, and that he shall otherwise conduct 
himself as a law-abiding citizen. 

The above appeared in the Nashville Banner Wednes- 
day, January 24, 1912. It brought to my mind, with 
renewed force, a story with which I was already familiar 
— how a man oflFered up on the altar of duty a sacrifice 
that but few men would make. 

The father of Mell Maples, the pardoned man, was a 
member of the 56th general assembly of Tennessee, which 
was so torn with the prohibition question during the last 



144 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

administration of Patterson. He belonged to the anti- 
liquor faction in that body. As everyone knows, the 
vote was pretty closely divided. A vote for or against it 
meant much, and both sides fought every inch of the 
ground. 

Those in favor of state-wide prohibition were known 
to be in the majority, and while the leaders were alert to 
hold its supporters together, the opposition was doing 
all within its power to purchase sufficient votes from 
among them to defeat its passage. 

It was a trying time and tested the metal of men. 
Money was offered by the whisky leaders in almost 
limitless amounts for the killing of the bill. Bribes were 
tendered and the glitter of gold tempted men charged 
with a better mission to sell their manhood. The weak 
gave way to its power and the strong held out against 
its lure. By it the traitor and the weakling were sepa- 
rated from the true and fearless. Man's common enemy 
was fighting with a golden sword before which many 
have fallen. 

Each faction was working every hour in the twenty- 
four. All night sessions were held and plans laid by 
both sides for the next day's battle. It was a time when 
honest men were needed to stand for the right. It seems 
that a higher power gets them together at the proper 
moment, and in this case there was no exception. Men 
were elected and sent to the legislature by constituents 
who instructed them to vote for the state-wide measure. 
Some forgot their promises when money was dropped 
into the open hands at their backs. They came for that 
purpose, but they were not there in sufficient numbers — 
they were defeated. It was because strong men were in 
favor of no saloons that the prohibition law found its 
way to the statutes of Tennessee. Where money failed 



AND Pool of Blood 145 

to buy a legislator's vote, the bribe-givers and corruption- 
ists pried into his private life to see if they could find 
anything there to force him to surrender his honor. They 
cared nothing for human woes and those things sacred 
to men. If a man was in trouble they promised to get 
him out; if he was out they threatened to get him in. 
The whisky element was in control of the state's 
machinery, and the governor was, body and soul, mixed 
up with them. His influence was thrown to the liberal 
side, and any promises made by that faction which had to 
be carried out through his office were promptly at- 
tended to. 

The prohibition committee of the legislature had rooms 
in the Maxwell House, and every night during the time 
the bill was up for consideration they held meetings in 
these quarters. If a member should be absent at roll call, 
there was grave fear that the hounds had him and that 
he had joined the other side — that he had sold out. 

Being interested in the passage of this bill, I fre- 
quently attended these night gatherings at the Maxwell 
House. At one roll call Thomas Maples, a member from 
an East Tennessee mountain district, failed to answer 
present. He had always been faithful and there was 
much speculation as to his apparently unwarranted 
absence. At the next meeting he was again not there. 
Night after night, for nearly one whole week this was 
the case, until one evening the outer door of the head- 
quarters opened and Mr. Maples stood before his aston- 
ished fellow committeemen. 

"Gentlemen," he began, before anyone could say a 
word, "I know you think it strange that I have been 
away so long. In fact, I am sure that you have long since 
decided that 1 had deserted you. But let me explain. 
As many of you know, I have a son in the Tennessee 

10 



146 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

State Prison, put there for killing a man. While he was 
placed there for an awful crime, he is not altogether to 
blame. The thing we are gathered here to fight is at 
the bottom of it. He was drunk, and while in this con- 
dition took the life of a fellow-man. He is my son and, 
whatever his crime, I love him. I was told by a repre- 
sentative of the other side that if I w^ould desert pro- 
hibition and cast my vote with the whisky crowd Gov. 
Patterson would pardon my boy. They knew money 
would not touch me, and with this they almost reached 
my price. I told them I would give an answer soon. 
I left at once for my home in the mountains to talk it 
over with my good wife, mother of my imprisoned son. 
There has been darkness in that home since our son 
went to prison, and I saw a chance to free my boy and 
lift the sorrow from the heart of my poor, grieving wife. 
I told her what had been offered me, and she told me 
not to accept it, but to do my duty and leave that to 
God. We cried and prayed over it, and every night for 
the past week I have walked the floor until the small 
hours of morning, wrestling with it, and I could not sec 
it in any other light different from that in which my 
wife viewed it. My friends, I have come back to do my 
duty. The welfare of my boy I leave to God." 

Who would not bow to such a man? When he had 
finished, I felt that I was standing in the presence of a 
saint. The sacrifice he made to duty and the faith he 
pinned to God will find few equals in history. Thai 
man should be given the best the people of his home can 
bestow upon him. His is the kind of virtue that should 
be rewarded. Men of his type made Tennessee famous 
for her brave sons, and while the old state has diverged 
from the path which such men placed her in, it will be 
his type that will bring her back. 



AND Pool of Blood 147 

Mr. Maples, I thank you for the lesson you have given 
me. I have often thought of it and shall ever recall it 
with reverence. 

The news contained in the clipping at the head of this 
chapter shows how well his faith was rewarded. 



148 Tennessee's Pond of Liqwor 



WHY THIS GREWSOME NAME. 

TENNESSEE'S POND OF LIQUOR AND POOL 
OF BLOOD. 

No doubt you will ask, or at least you will wonder, why 
I selected such a grewsome name for this book. Well, 
in the first place, I had to name it something, and as I 
expected to deal with political conditions in Tennessee 
and the cause of those conditions, it occurred to me as 
a very appropriate name, however objectionable it may 
be to some. 

If I could have gotten out of calling this a book I would 
have done so. I have some idea of what it means to write 
a book and appreciate the fact that it carries the inference 
of a scholar and is not the task of a small bore. I am 
not a scholar and frankly admit that I am a small bore. 
However, I determined to write this, have it published 
and bound, and there was nothing to do but to call it a 
book, so with that explanation and apology to all real 
book writers, I duck and dive into what I have to say. 

The scientist undertakes to tell us where we came from, 
the theolog where we are going, but what the people 
want to know is, "Where are we at ?" Our origin is quite 
a mooted question and from our present degeneracy, I 
am about ready to agree with Mr. Darwin that we sprang 
from the monkey, and we did not spring very far from 
him, either, and we are now traveling after the crawfish 
kind and will soon be ready to convert the whole thing 



AND Pool of Blood 149 

into one grand zoo, and be "at home to our fathers and 
friends." 

AS TO OUR FINAL DESTINATION. 

If the preachers' finespun theory is correct (and I 
beHeve it is) about there being two distinct places for our 
final abode, it depending entirely upon our conduct here 
as to which one we get, there is no question but that 
the most of us will go where it is warm. 



WHERE ARE WE AT .'' 

That's the all-absorbing, living question. At the rapid 
rate we are traveling, we certainly should be somewhere, 
and we are — I can only answer for those with whom I 
am keeping company and as I see it, in Tennessee, we are 
in "The Middle of a Fix." Politically, we are like the 
snake that made the track, you can't tell whether we are 
going forward or coming back. 

It is no exaggeration to say (and a good bet if you 
want to win) that there are more political crooks to the 
square inch in Tennessee than any state in the Union, 
especially is that true of her three large cities and most 
— especially of Nashville, her capital city. Now, bear in 
mind, I know what I am talking about when I say Nash- 
ville. I have lived there twenty years and have recently 
served one term as sheriff, and the very best recommen- 
dation that I could possibly give as to who I am, what 
I am, and how I do business is, that I served one term 
as sheriff of Davidson County and could not be re-elected, 
and if I were called upon to explain why I am so poor, 
why I have nothing, why I look seedy, why so many 
people curl their lip and turn up their nose when they 



150 lEN^iESSEE's i^OiND OF LlQUOR 

see me, why so many call me a fool, why I am the object 
of scorn, why I am cussed, why I can't pay my debts, 
why I can't get a job in Nashville, why I couldn't hold 
it if I got it, why I am held up by the lawless element and 
pointed out to all candidates for public office to observe, 
take notice and be governed accordingly, if they want 
to be elected, why they govern themselves accordingly, 
why the liquor people fight me, why the railroads fight 
me, why the telephone company fights me, why the palace 
car company, the street car company, the gas com- 
pany, the telegraph companies, all the big business, 
including the Roman Catholic organization, fights me 
and will fight me whenever and wherever I poke up my 
head. 

I would answer : Simply because I was elected sheriff 
on the independent ticket, enforced the law and refused 
to bow the knee to Baal. 

But you say, what's that got to do with the name of 
the book? I will tell you a little later, if you fail to see 
the appropriateness. 

In my fight for good government, law and order, and 
special privilege to none, the only visible prominent out- 
spoken force opposing me, was the liquor and the gam- 
bling element, but back of them was the hidden hand ; 
the very foundation upon which the, liquor people stand, 
the corporations and big business. 

The liquor people make the fight while the corpora- 
tions direct the battle and put up the money. Their 
slogan is "drown him in a pond of liquor and if neces- 
sary, reduce him to a pool of blood," and the heartless, 
corrupt and villainous gang of vampires and thieves pro- 
ceed to carry out the order. In my case, they succeeded 
in drowning me in a pond of liquor and fell but little 
short of reducing me to a pool of blood, and they may 



AND Pool of Bix)od 161 

do it yet. The fact is, politically, Tennessee stands today 
upon a veritable pond of liquor and pool of blood. The 
man who fights the liquor interests and their friends in 
Tennessee may expect at any time to spill his blood, 
and he must not be afraid to die. Only a few years ago, 
one of Tennessee's most noble sons announced himself 
a candidate for governor of his state, and by way of 
explaining his position on the liquor question, he used 
these words: "The liquor business has sinned away its 
days of grace and therefore must be destroyed." What 
was the result; we all know he was destroyed in its 
stead. We all know that Edward Ward Carmack was 
cut down in the vigor of his noble young manhood and 
left for a while to writhe and swelter in his own blood. 
Carmack was murdered, not for what he had said, but 
what he zvould say, by as cold-blooded and treacherous 
assassin as ever stole to the couch of sleeping innocence 
at the dark hour of midnight and with no more justifica- 
tion than the nailing of Jesus Christ to the Cross by the 
heartless Jews. Yet this assassin walks the streets of 
Nashville with head erect. Not even the blush of shame 
mantles his cheek as he views the blood-stained spot 
where his victim fell. Unlike the Jew, this assassin was 
not even sent to wonder and vv^ait for his Moses. He 
found his Moses before he found his man. When car- 
ried before the courts, justice was done, but when at last, 
called before (not Pilot) but Patterson, his verdict was 
"I find no fault with my personal and political friend, 
the judgment of the courts to the contrary notwithstand- 
ing, but in the man he killed I do, therefore, you shall not 
take him. He shall go scot free." 

Today this murderer. Dune Cooper, with his hands 
wreaking with the bipod of Edward Ward Carmack, 
still seeks to direct political affairs in Tennessee^ while 



152 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

Ham Patterson, the man who forever disgraced Ten- 
nessee, by the pardon of Dune Cooper, is an announced 
candidate for the United States senate, and should have 
as an appropriate platform, "I stand upon a pond of 
liquor and Carmack's blood." 

Then ask me why I select such a name? I did not 
select it, conditions suggested it. 



i 



AND Pool of Blood 153 



PATTERSONISM THE ISSUE. 

I commenced to write this book in October, 191 1, and 
expected to have it out in a short while, but met with so 
many obstacles I was unable to do so. 

My experience in compiling this book would make 
quite an interesting story within itself. 

Since commencing this book and predicting that ex- 
Governor Patterson would be a candidate for office, he 
has announced himself for the United States Senate. 

Now that Patterson is a candidate, the issue in Ten- 
nessee is plainly Patterson and Pattersonism, and must 
and will be fought out along these lines. 

Above all else this man of gall — this modern Nero — 
desires a vindication at the hands of the people of Ten- 
nessee, of himself and his "close personal and political 
friends" for the murder of Senator Carmack and his 
pardon of the murderer and that is what his election 
would mean. 

The election of Ham Patterson to any office in Ten- 
nessee, much less the highest office within the gift of the 
people of a state, would simply mean that the people of 
this great commonwealth condone the murder of Carmack 
and applaud and elevate the pardoner of the assassin. 

It would mean the reinstating of the most damnable 
political machine and ring-rule that ever cursed a South- 
ern state. 

It would mean an endorsement of the Patterson prece- 
dent, the disregarding and setting aside of the decrees of 
our supreme court with impunity. 



154 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

It would mean that the people endorse the usurpation 
of the judiciary by the executive. 

It would mean an absolute domination, if not damna- 
tion, of our public affairs by the worst element that 
ever infested a free state. 

It would mean that the worst man in Tennessee fills 
the highest office in Tennessee. 

It would mean that the same blood that stains the 
ijovernor's chair would stain the same seat in the United 
States senate once occupied and honored by Edward 
Ward Carmack. 

It means that we should tear down the monument now- 
being erected to the Immortal Carmack and build one to 
this Daring Demon in its stead. 

It simply means the absolute destruction of Tennessee, 
therefore, it will never be, the PEOPLE will see to that. 

No, Mr. Patterson, you have fattened from the peo- 
ple's treasury and given nothing in return for your last 
time. 

You have turned loose, protected, and been elected by 
the criminals of this state for your last time. 

You have promised the people one thing to get office 
and then done another thing for your last time. 

You said **you stood at the bar of God and asked for 
that that made men strong." 

You have fooled us as to what bar that was for your 
last time. We know by your behavior that it was not the 
bar of God. 

You said, "I pardoned my personal and political friend, 
Col. Cooper, and was GLAD that I did it, and for it I am 
willing to be judged here and hereafter." 

Don't worry about that, Mr. Patterson, the people of 
Tennessee will judge you HERE and God Almighty 
will judge YOU hereafter, "and then some." 



AND Pool of Blood 155 

i lit-re quote from the Nashville Tennessean of August 
13, 19 1 2, in which my sentiments could be no better 
expressed and add, I do not know who will oppose Ham 
Patterson for the United States senate, but whoever he 
may be, should certainly have the honesty, courage and 
frankness to boldly charge and force the issue that Pat- 
terson was a party to the murder of Edward Ward Car- 
mack, and should he fail to do so, I am sure the people 
of Tennessee will regard him as equally unfit for the 
senate as Patterson himself. The quotation referred to 
follows : 

The Democratic nominees cannot afford to carry the 
weight of Patterson's candidacy for the senate, if the 
party is going to be, or deserve to be, successful at the 
polls in November. 

Patterson has been a disturbing factor in politics in 
Tennessee during the last several years. 

During his two terms as governor, and his three 
terms as representative of the Tenth District in the 
Congre:=s of the United States, there is not a single 
measure that can be called distinctively Patterson's thai 
made for the welfare of the state or nation, or that con- 
tributed to the peace or prosperity of the people he was 
representing. There is not a single idea championed by 
Patterson Vv^hich he can claim as his own that brought 
tranquility or contentment to Tennessee. He repre- 
sented no party principle that marked an advance in 
the party's position and entitled the party to a greater 
measure of public confidence. 

Patterson's official and public life has thus stood for 
absolutely nothing good in an affirmative sense, but it is 
far from being barren of results in an evil way. He has 
accomplished more evil than any other public man in 
twice the time. 



156 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

Patterson found the party united and triumphant, 
and at the close of his second term, he left it divided 
and defeated. Before he became its leader, the party 
stood for definite principles. He left his wing of it with- 
out any definite policy, other than one of revenge, and 
as a vehicle of one man's insatiable ambition for offices 
he cannot fill, but only disgrace. 

The administration of his office was marked by the 
most brazen and disgraceful system of pardon brokerage 
that ever pilloried a state in shame before an outraged 
nation. Murder left its bloody stain upon the governor's 
chair while he occupied it. His was not the hand that 
fired the shot that robbed Tennessee of its most brilliant 
and beloved son. His may not have been the brain that 
hatched the foul and dastardly crime. But he was so 
close to all of it as to receive a stain that neither time 
nor changing generations can efface. 

Patterson's re-entrance into politics reveals his 
hypocrisy in professing love for the party, because he 
knows the only cloud upon Democracy's horizon is his 
candidacy for the senate. For as long as murder is re- 
garded as murder, the people of Tennessee are not going 
to permit themselves to be represented in the United 
States Senate, as a successor to Edward Ward Carmack, 
by the man who pardoned the murderer of Carmack 
before the ink was dry on the decree of the Supreme 
Court which branded the foul crime as murder, to say 
nothing worse of Patterson's connection with it. 

Patterson's plan is to make the Democratic party 
and the state of Tennessee share with him the humilia- 
tion this act has invited upon him for all time, first, by 
having the Democratic party endorse him and his act 
by nominating him, and second, by having the state of 
Tennessee ratify his nomination by electing him to the 
senate.. 



AND Pool of Blood 157 

Pattersons candidacy represents the clear-cut issue 
of an endorsement or condemnation of Carmack's mur- 
der. Patterson approved it by pardoning the murderer. 
Patterson now asks the party and the state to endorse 
him and approve through him the murder of Carmack. 
The nominees of the party cannot afford to be an 
accessory after the fact to the murder of Carmack, and 
least of all on personal as well as political grounds can 
Governor Benton McMillin afford to endorse the murder 
of Carmack by approving and lending either direct or 
indirect support to "the candidacy of Patterson, who be- 
trayed him in the last senatorial fight and did more than 
any other man to defeat him for the senate. 

The time to stamp out the blight of Patterson is 
right now. 

Could there be a more ghastly, harrowing, sickening 
sight than to witness this exponent of liquor, blood- 
sucking corporation and every evil force with which the 
American people are cursed rising in the United States 
Senate with his hand wreaking with the blood of Car- 
mack and proclaiming to that august body that he rep- 
resents the great state of Tennessee? 

No, nothing more disgraceful could come to our state, 
and with full confidence in our people of the rural dis- 
tricts, I predict that it will never come. In the language 
of another, "not so long as murder is regarded as 
murder." 

Nor will it suffice to prate about the liquor question, 
law-enforcement, back tax, good roads, corruption, graft, 
etc., etc. 

The question is, Patterson and Pattersonism, when 
this man and his bloody wake is forever wiped from the 
face of Tennessee's political affairs, all these things will 
be remedied and not until then. 



158 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

So, come out like a man and force him to stand as he 
truly does, upon a Pond of Liquor and a Pool of Blood. 

I serve notice here and now that if I live, and the 
sale of this book enables me to do so, I expect to go over 
this entire state and give to the people from my own lips, 
heart and soul, what I know (and I know more than I 
have here told), about Patterson and ,his criminal 
associates. 

And in doing so, I shall represent no man or set of 
men, no political party or faction of a party. I, and I 
alone, shall be responsible, and whatever the result, let 
it come — I will have told some new truths with refer- 
ence to the darkest page ever written in Tennessee's 
history. 

The murder of Edward Ward Carmack. 



AND Pool of Blood 159 



HELPING TO CIRCULATE A LIE. 

THE FARCE OF PROHIBITION. 

(New York Commercial.) 

Kansas, Maine — the list is long — at divers times have 
contributed illustrations of the farcical character of pro- 
hibition, evidence of the impossibility of legislating 
morals into all the people of a commonwealth. Now, 
hard on the heels of Alabama, steps forth Tennessee 
with much direct and much more indirect testimony to 
the miserable failure of a more than two-year effort to 
end the traffic in intoxicants. 

Fifteen months ago the general public outside of the 
Volunteer State read with surprise that Ben W. Hooper, 
a Republican, had been elected governor — the first Re- 
publican governor of Tennessee in three decades. Yet 
this was not true, strictly. Hooper was the first pro- 
hibition governor the state ever elected — and he bids 
fair to be the last. Truth of the matter was that the pro- 
hibition Democrats who three years ago forced state- 
wide prohibition and state-wide inhibition of brewing and 
distilling had been so disgusted with the failure of the 
Democratic administration to enforce the laws passed 
despite its resistance that they turned eagerly to the 
Republicans and endorsed the latter's candidate for gov- 
ernor upon his pronouncement of extreme prohibition 
principles. Out of a campaign waged with Hooper 
promising to enforce and strengthen the prohibition laws 
and the Democrats urging repeal of the state-wide legis- 



160 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

lation and return to local municipal and county option, 
the Republican-prohibition fusionist Hooper emerged 
with 11,380 votes to spare. 

Hooper has been in office almost fourteen months. He 
controlled the legislature, and every part of the fusion 
bargain was carried out with minor exceptions. And in 
the meantime ''bootlegging" has flourished, "blind 
tigers" have grown more and more numerous, while the 
larger cities, led by the capital, Nashville, have defied 
the state authority by enacting licensing ordinances, regu- 
lating the traffic in liquors just as prior to the swinging 
of the state into the "dry" column. Mayors and alder- 
men have been elected on platforms calling for defiance 
of the state liquor laws — not merely assurances of "lib- 
eral" interpretation, but straightout promises to legalize 
and regulate the selling of spiritous, malt and vinous 
liquors. And it was not the lawless spirit which placed 
such candidates in office, but the sober judgment of 
decent citizens, who were appalled and horrified by the 
orgy of secret liquor selling, the multiplication of "dives," 
the debauchery of the young, and the train of evil at- 
tendant upon unregulated trafficking in intoxicants, by 
men drawn from the lowest moral stratum of the 
community. 

And now Ben W. Hooper, deserted by his former sup- 
porters, standing forth as a Republican, announces his 
candidacy for re-election, pleads that the laws are not 
strong enough, confesses he has not kept his promises to 
enforce the prohibition laws, and urges that it will be 
necessary to enact all sorts of legislation if the laws are 
to be enforced. 

But, save in a few instances, the "state-widers" stand 
aloof. The faction of the Democratic party which sup- 
ported Hooper and prohibition has rejoined its local 



AND Pool of Blood 161 

option brother, the two committees agreeing on a state 
primary and gubernatorial convention. But, in ending 
their estrangement, neither mentioned prohibition. Its 
former supporters apparently were not willing to discuss 
it; its foes were generous. Their brother's faults had 
been recorded on the sands. Only, the newspapers which 
supported Hooper, and the leaders who upheld his cause 
when that cause was prohibition — or "state-wide," as 
they call it in Tennessee — explain again and again that 
the Democrats merely have harmonized, and that, any- 
how, prohibition should be taken out of politics and set- 
tled "on the broader basis of etc., etc." 

Tennessee had the example of her sister states to guide 
her, but as with most of us, the warning sign of "Paint" 
did not deter, but rather invited, the questioning, test- 
ing touch of finger tip. The gibing "I-told-you-so" 
usually is answered by the defensive, yet half-apolgetic, 
"Well-I-wasn't-surprised." 

The above was copied from the editorial page of the 
Nashville Democrat of Wednesday, February 21, 191 2. 

Everybody knows that the Democrat is the ghost of 
the old American, and that it will not hesitate to publish 
untruths, or to circulate a lie when it feels that its un- 
reasonable position will in any way be strengthened by it. 

That paper eagerly reproduces such rot as its cor- 
poration editor can find by perusing the columns of pub- 
lications that know nothing whatever about Tennessee 
affairs. 

The New York Commercial has only done what many 
other papers at a distance have done — it has made an 
honest mistake. Political affairs in Tennessee are pe- 
culiar, and only those at home understand them. 

It is really pitiful to see foreign papers try to treat 
on a subject they are absolutely ignorant of, and when 

11 



162 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

such filthy sheets as the Democrat reproduce articles of 
this kind the paper quoted is led to believe that it is right 
and that it has summed up Tennessee's condition to 
a "T." 

Nashville's Morning Liar delights in rehashing such 
stuff for its readers, and is silly enough to think it will 
be accepted as a fact. It is a reflection on the intelligence 
of the Nashville and Tennessee public for that sheet to 
dish out to it reading so fraught with falsehood. 

The exchange editor of Nashville's whisky sheet knew 
when he clipped the above that he was going to give 
publicity to a falsehood, but, like the pohcy that cor- 
poration organ was brought into existence to pursue, 
this was perfectly in keeping with its daily duty. 

The editor of the New York Commercial is certainly 
aware that there has never been any attempt to legislate 
morals into people in any state by the passage of a pro- 
hibition law. The law says specifically that intoxicants 
must not be sold, and has nothing to say against drink- 
ing them. A man is free to drink as much as he pleases 
in a prohibition state, providing he can find a man who 
wilt violate the law and sell it to him. The latter is an 
easy matter in communities where such officials as the 
Democrat supports get into office. 

"Now, hard on the heels of Alabama, steps forth Ten- 
nessee with much direct and much more indirect testi- 
mony to the miserable failure of a more than two-year 
effort to end the traffic in intoxicants," says the above. 

It is true that the state-wide law has been on the 
statute books of Tennessee for more than two years, but 
there has not been "more than a two-year effort" to en- 
force it. In fact, there has not been any effort to enforce 
it. In counties where decent men were elected to office 
the law has been rigidly enforced, but if the counties of 



AND Pool of Blood 163 

Hamilton, Davidson and Shelby, within the borders of 
which are the lawless cities of Chattanooga, Nashville 
and Memphis, everything is wide open and whisky, beer 
and wine flow freely in those places, while the sellers of 
the hellish stuff jire protected by officials who were sup- 
ported in their race for office by the Democrat and its 
kind. 

If "the general public outside of the Volunteer State 
read with surprise" fifteen months ago of the election 
of Ben W. Hooper as governor, then people beyond the 
borders of this commonwealth are incapable of passing 
upon conditions as they exist in the state. H those citi- 
zens of the United States residing out of Tennessee do 
not keep up with the daily news any more closely than 
not to have known long before the nomination that the 
Republican nominee would be elected governor of Ten- 
nessee, then they were not sufficiently interested in this 
state to care about knowing the truth. This is also a re- 
flection on the New York Commercial and other papers 
that are ignorant of the facts. H that paper was sur- 
prised when Hooper was elected it certainly had a bad 
opinion of Tennessee's citizenship. 

Hooper is not "the first prohibition governor the state 
ever elected." He was the first good man the people 
had a chance to vote for after Patterson's second adminis- 
tration and he will be re-elected because of Hooper's 
administration. 

The murder of Senator Carmack during Patterson's 
administration at the hands of the latter's closest friends 
had more to do with the election of Hooper than the 
failure to enforce the prohibition laws, and that will be 
the political pivot in Tennessee as long as the Patterson 
forces try to take part in the state's affairs as 
Pattersonites. 



164 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

It is true that Hooper has been in office nearly a year 
and a half, but it is not his fault that the anti-whisky 
law goes unregarded in Nashville, Memphis and Chat- 
tanooga. The Democrat and its kind control the county 
and city officials of these places and it is such outlaws as 
these who are responsible for the law'^ violation. They 
violate the law and assist in its violation and place the 
blame for so doing on the shoulders of innocent parties. 

It is true that Nashville, with Memphis and Chatta 
nooga, has defied the state authority and passed special 
laws to override the mandates of the state. These three 
cities are in the hands of the pet officials of the Demo- 
crat and its other subsidized sisters. They were elected 
to defy the laws and the Democrat glories in their utter 
disregard of them. 

The New York Commercial further says: **And it 
was not the lawless spirit which placed such candidates 
in office, but the sober judgment of decent citizens, who 
were appalled and horrified by the orgy of sec^ret liquor 
selling, the multiplication of dives, the debauching of 
the young and the train of evil attendant upon unregu- 
lated trafficking in intoxicants, by men drawn from the 
lowest moral stratum of the community." 

If this was the case, how in the name of common 
sense did the "men drawn from the lowest moral stratum 
of the community" vote? Are they such quiet and un- 
assuming citizens that they stood quietly by and risked 
their future to a lot of "decent citizens" ? Does this kind 
of man ever risk anything to a decent citizen ? No. He 
never fails to vote against his business. After he exer- 
cises the right of suflFrage he delights in tampering with 
the ballot box. He sometimes gets more votes that way 
than legally. 

These citizens "drawn from the lowest moral stratum 



AND Pool of Blood 165 

of the community" to a man voted for the law-defying 
officials of the counties of Hamilton, Davidson and 
Shelby, and the cities of Chattanooga, Nashville and 
Memphis. 

It is safe to say that each one of these voters coming 
from the "lowest moral stratum" in Nashville, if illiteracy 
does not prevent it, reads the Democrat. That paper 
stands for his principles, and I am sure when he read the 
clipping from the New York Commercial he felt 
vindicated. 

It is a sad truth, however, that some decent citizens 
voted with this clan — enough to put its candidate in of- 
fice. These good citizens were mislead by not giving the 
attention to the matter as they should and were impelled 
to give support to that crowd because it was sailing 
under the colors of Democracy, the banners of which 
they have so wantonly trailed in the dust and dipped in 
the mire. 

Ben Hooper is not "deserted by his former support- 
ers." The Independent Democrats are standing by him. 
When he is returned to his present position it will be 
with a legislature in sympathy with law enforcement 
and it will enact such laws as are now needed to give 
trustworthy officials more authority and place in his 
hands a weapon sufficiently strong to drive the outlaw 
from the state. 

The "state-wider" does not "stand aloof." The faction 
of the Democratic party which supported Hooper has not 
"rejoined its local option brother." 

The action of the two committees had nothing to do 
with it, and the effect of their decision was not felt out- 
side of the circle of politicians who brought it about. 
Luke Lea and three or four others who have been given 



106 Tennessee's Ponu of Liquor 

much at the hands of the people, cannot "weld the 
wooden handle to the pewter spoon." 

The Independent Democrat is a freeborn citizen with 
brains, and he will both exercise his intellect and his 
liberty when it comes to voting for or against his wife 
and children. 

The Independent and the Regular will never mingle 
their tears of either joy or regret. The former is right, 
and, as that always prevails, he is taking his time. In 
the meantime he will vote for Hooper. 

No, the two committees never "mentioned prohibition." 
They couldn't have harmonized among themselves if 
they had. Each committee had too much respect for 
the other to mention anything that would likely make the 
other one blush. One restrained from mentioning pro- 
hibition, while the other showed its appreciation by keep- 
ing silent on Patterson. It was a congenial little bunch 
and they didn't do a bit of harm. 

One of the rankest falsehoods in the whole thing is 
the statement that the supporters of Hooper are now 
explaining that ''prohibition should be taken out of poli- 
tics." The question is in politics to stay until it is finally 
settled one way or the other. 

However, the Democrat has to fill the mission of its 
masters, and from time to time those who condescend to 
read it will find in its columns such misstatements as 
the above. 

The Democrat, the ghost of that old vulture, the 
American, which died from partaking so freely of car- 
rion that its vomiting apparatus became chocked, will 
keep this up and there is no way to purify it. 



AND Pool of Blood 167 



BOOSTING NASHVILLE. 



L. & N. TO BOOST NASHVILLE. 



But Vice President Intimates City Is Already known 
Throughout World. 

Eugene Shannon, secretary of the Board of Trade, 
recently communicated with the officers of the Louisville 
& Nashville Railroad in regard to that company helping 
in advertising Nashville. Wednesday he received a com- 
munication from Vice President Mapother stating Nash- 
ville was already so well known throughout the country 
that it did not need any advertising, but as the Board of 
Trade wants to keep the City of Opportunity before the 
people of the country, he would take the matter up and 
try and help Nashville Boosters. — Nashville Democrat, 
January 25, 1912. 

There is a great deal of truth contained in the above. 
Nobody doubts that Nashville "is already known through- 
out world," as stated in the head of the article here 
reproduced. 

The Louisville & Nashville Railroad Company has 
been liberal in advertising Nashville, and I think it is 
an imposition to ask that corporation to contribute more 
towards making the city known. From that source 
Nashville has had more free advertising than from any 
other. 



168 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

The L. & N. R. R. is an efficient advertising manager 
and has a knack of getting free newspaper notoriety for 
cities it wants to bring to the notice of the public. 

It doesn't even need a press agent for this. It has an 
agent, of course, but he is a pecuHar kind of an agent. 
No one knows he is an L. & N. agent until he acts. He 
is sometimes suspected before he carries out his mission, 
but no one is positive until he makes a bid for space. 
This agent is armed, but not with credentials. By the 
peculiarity of his acts, the source of his employment is 
known. 

It is always a strange case when it eventually comes to 
light, in that the agent fails to recognize his employer 
and the employer the agent. They swear they have never 
met before and they even refuse to become acquainted. 

How the agent finds out just what the employer wants 
done is a mystery. Nashville has been the recipient of 
much at the hands of these two. They have caused her 
name to appear more in print than the money spent by 
all her commercial bodies. 

It was very presumptuous on Mr. Shannon's part to 
ask the Louisville & Nashville Railroad Company to do 
more, and I am not surprised that Vice-President Ma- 
pother, whose title is an empty one, wrote him as he did. 

This gentleman was evidently surprised when he 
learned that Nashville wanted more advertising. His 
road has recently given it so much publicity that he felt 
that it had enough to last a spell. This was given in 
such large quantities that not only Nashville, but the 
whole state of Tennessee, was advertised by it. 

In 1900 this same open-handed corporation gave Ken- 
tucky and its capital city some .of the same free adver- 
tising it so liberally gave the old Volunteer State and 
the seat of its government eight years later. 



AND Pool of Blood 169 

That and the Tennessee affair were handled so 
adroitly that space was given in newspapers published 
in every language. It was a world-wide publicity cam- 
paign, and all the news associations of the earth 
collected it eagerly and dispensed it freely. News 
editors received it with open arms and lost no time in 
serving it hot to an expectant public. 

That "Nashville was already so well known through- 
out the country that it did not need any advertising," is, 
according to the above news item, Mr. Mapother's idea 
of what Nashville has received. 

If the L. & N. R. R. can give Nashville advertising 
to offset that which it has already given her, it is the 
duty of that company to do it. However, the first thing 
for it to do along this line will be to help right things 
in the capital city before asking the stranger here to 
abide. Let it first wipe out the results of its own handi- 
work. 

The best advertising Nashville could wish for would 
be for the L. & N. R. R. to announce in the press of the 
nation that it no longer controlled, or tried to control, 
its politics. 

While this would not v/ipe out the sins of the past it 
would assure a better city for the future. 

Wherever the L. & N. R. R. has taken part in munici- 
pal affairs and state politics, the result has been 
corruption in public office. This has then led to open 
disregard of law, both by those whose duty it was to en- 
force it and by those who should obey it. This corporation 
has giv-en Nashville wide advertising of an immoral 
character that I fear will require years to undo. 

It has been written in blood by the agent and copied 
in flaming headlines over the world. Death and destruc- 
tion have been the result, and widows and children left 



170 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

to mourn and weep for the father and husband taken off 
by the agent's hand. 

So well did the L. & N. R. R. succeed in giving 
Nashville publicity that the papers are still discussing the 
city and some of its happenings. It is a shrewd ''old 
duck" and knows how to get printers* ink without paying 
for it. 

Mr. Mapother, if your road gives Nashville adver- 
tising, please see that it is the kind Mr. Shannon has 
asked you for. We have had too much of the old brand. 



AND Pool of Blood 171 



WAIT A BIT, MR. FILIPINO. 



FILIPINO WANTS TO KNOW OF NASHVILLE. 



Industrial Bureau Gets Inquiry From Far-Away Pos- 
sessions, and Promptly Answers. 

For some months the industrial bureau has been 
engaged in the systematic task of heralding Nashville's 
advantages and attractions by means of varied forms of 
advertising and replies have been received from prac- 
tically every part of the country. However, it remained 
for a recent mail to bring in the opening query from as 
great a distance as the Philippine Islands. 

Evaristo Deloro, of 27 Zamora and Reyes streets, 
Lucena, Tayabas, Philippine Islands, is the name and 
somewhat elaborate address of an enterprising person 
with an eye to American opportunities and who seeks to 
know something about Nashville and what it has to offer 
in the way of business advantages. Senor Deloro does 
not state just what his particular line of endeavor is, 
but his enterprise was immediately acknowledged and he 
was supplied with facts as to what Nashville possesses. 

No doubt this response came from a recent advertise- 
ment appearing in many of the leading magazines of the 
country, entitled 'Twelve Hours From Nashville." This 
card, covering 40 square inches, shows a map of Nash- 
ville with special reference to its location as the geo- 



172 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

graphical center of the southern territory and appeals 
for the establishment of manufacturing plants and branch 
houses of eastern concerns. The text of the ad is 
"24,000,000 People Within 12 Hours." 

This advertisement carries Nashville and her oppor- 
tunities to millions of people in all parts of this and 
foreign countries, and has appeared recently in The 
World's Work, Review of Reviews, Current Literature, 
Leslie's Weekly and System. 

The Nashville boosting editor of the Tennesseean and 
American had the above appear in the columns of his 
paper Thursday morning, February 22, 1912. 

Let us hope that the Nashville Industrial Bureau did 
not mail out its literature to Evaristo Deloro, of 27 
Zamora and Reyes streets, Lucena, Tayabas, Philippine 
Islands, the same day the notice of the receipt of his 
letter by that organization appeared in print. 

The greatest lesson in veracity we have been able to 
hold up to the Filipino to follow is the cherry tree and 
hatchet story, and if the literature this particular native 
of our eastern possessions asked for at the hands of the 
Nashville Industrial Bureau reaches him bearing the 
postmark of February 22, 1912, the i8oth anniversary of 
the birth of the father of our country, and he afterwards 
finds out the real facts regarding the so-called "City of 
Opportunity," he will feel that the "father, I cannot tell 
a lie" incident is a myth, and that Americans, under the 
control of whose great nation destiny has thrown him, 
have very little regard for that which they represent their 
first president as holding most sacred. 

When this dark-skinned brother receives the adver- 
tising matter sent him and gives it a careful reading, no 
doubt he will at once decide that Nashville is the place 
for him to locate. He will naturally assume that every 



AND Pool of Blood 173 

statement contained therein is correct, and that would 
be enough to make any man want to come to this city and 
make it his home. He easily concludes that opportuni- 
ties are lying loose about the streets and that all he will 
have to do will be to come and pick out a big, juicy one 
and march on to success with it. 

He will also see that it makes no difference about the 
line he follows. Just anything with a Httle effort will 
bring in the golden stream in this great city where men 
with money are so eager ( ?) to let some one else have it. 

He will gather from the inflated literature sent him 
that he will get off the train in Nashville and begin rak- 
ing in money. He might come here and become a loan 
shark, deputy sheriff, magistrate, back tax collector, or 
start a collection agency. All of these make money 
easily in the capital city of Tennessee, and have means 
of forcing it from the unwilling. The Filipino's name 
will make an excellent title for a collection agency, and 
with it he could equal any of the money sharks in extort- 
ing a high rate of interest. 

If this inquirer of the east decides to come to Nash- 
ville he will find all the open hands he was led to believe 
would be outstretched to him closed tightly, and that the 
"City of Opportunity" has faded, and in its stead a city 
of disappointment awaits him. Perhaps he is thinking 
of opening up a gambling house or starting a saloon. He 
will find a field for either of these, but it is best that he 
come prepared to "plank down" the required amount of 
"let me alone" money. This is just as essential as the 
material to begin business on. If he will go this route 
upon his arrival here he will not be disappointed in the 
glaring accounts of Nashville's opportunities which fig- 
ured in directing him to this city, for really and truly 
he will find many outstretched hands for graft. 



174 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

Now, senor, if you would leave the land of bamboo 
for the city of "bamboozle," my advice to you is to come 
to Nashville. You will find it much more profitable to be 
a "bamboozler" than a "bamboo king." 

But, Evaristo, if you will be patient a bit and put off 
your coming about two years, you will find Nashville a 
splendid place to stop in, and if your business is a legiti- 
mate one — and I am sure it is — you cannot find a better 
place in which to locate than this city. You will really 
like the old town after some scheduled changes take 
place, and then there will be plenty of room for honest 
men and fertile fields for their endeavor. 

Nashville is sick right now, and as soon as we can ply 
the stomach-pump and take a stroke or two, everything 
will then be in readiness to receive outsiders with some 
assurance of their staying. 



AND Pool of Blood 176 



NASHVILLE OF YESTERDAY. 

Nashville, at one time you were as pure as the purest. 

God had complete control of you and the devil had the 
habit of keeping hands off. 

You were .a fair gem, and when the rays of light fell 
upon your surface there was an answering of dazzling 
effulgence that was both blinding and pleasing. 

You were a footstool of God, and Lot's wife had no 
occasion to flee from you. 

Proud and doting parents have bidden their children 
Godspeed as they left distant homes to seek knowledge 
in your grand institutions of learning, and it was without 
fear they saw them depart to spend months in your pro- 
tecting arms. 

Far and wide your churches have been known, and 
from their pulpits great divines have propounded the 
true gospel in a way as to make you referred to as a 
godly city. 

You have sat upon a high pinnacle and received the 
best the land afforded. 

You have been pointed to with pride and no man con- 
nected your name with shame. 

With head erect you have boldly looked the whole 
world in the face ; there was no reason then for lowering 
it. 

Law has been your protector, and in days gone by 
crime, when it dared move at all, was forced to take to 
the back alleys and secluded places. 



176 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

You have been noted for your virtue, and you were 
the most spotless among your sisters. 

Tender and unescorted femininity has walked your 
streets in full confidence of safety. 

Your officials of the past did not allow you to be black- 
ened with crime. 

At one time you were free from the gambler and his 
evil influences. 

In the years gone by you were pointed to by your 
neighbors with pride; they cherished you as a thing of 
value. 

You have been a credit to your state, and one time 
Tennessee was measured by your greatness. 

In the past you set a good example and many pat- 
terned after you. 

For years the world knew you as a seat of learning, 
and as "The Athens of the South," you represented well 
that ancient city of Greece, whose famous teachers once 
gave light to the king and the peasant, the ruler and the 
ruled. 

In your days of glory you languidly sipped sweet 
nectar from a golden cup 'neath shade of friendly 
branches, while balmy breezes gently kissed your fair 
and rosy cheeks and fanned back from your spotless 
brow careless golden locks loosely hanging from a head 
that knew not the burden of care. 

The cup of poison was not then raised to your lipsj 
you drank only pure draughts. 

In those days you needed no warning; your affairs 
were running smoothly. 

You did not have to decide between truth and false- 
hood ; only the purest was whispered into your ears. 

You had only the straight and narrow way to follows 
and you hewed to the line. 



AND Pool of Blood 177 

Good men and true ruled you, and the sinner was not 
admitted to your councils. 

Like a white spot you nestled in the space allotted you 
on Tennessee's loving bosom. 

Clad in your immaculate robes of purity you were 
known to all men by your dress. 

There was no slander cast abroad concerning you; 
your neighbors knew naught but good of you. 

Your actions were above reproach and your motives 
were not questioned. 

At the festal board you turned your glass when wine 
was served ; you were a total abstainer. 

Your beauty of construction was cause for other 
builders to ask for your plans at the hands of your 
architects. 

You have led and others were content to follow. 

At one time your whiteness showed with great contrast 
beside the blackness of your sister in Shelby. 

You have boldly traversed the seas and the winds 
interfered not with your progress. 

All came to you for a fair deal; you were noted for 
your honesty. 

The money shark feared you, and your sons were not 
caught in his net. 

When you paid your money the correct change was 
given back to you; you demanded that which was yours 
and it was given you. 

As you ploughed the high seas the pirates avoided your 
sail. 

The bloodsuckers were afraid to set tooth in your 
flesh. 

The mention of your name had a magical effect; it 
was a synonym for goodness. 

12 



178 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

You were not trailed by the dogs; you fled to, and 
not from, justice. 

You pointed the way to affluence to your sons, and they 
never forgot you in the division of their gains. 

Dives feasted not within your doors, and there was no 
Lazarus to beg for crumbs behind your gates. 

You rested upon a downy couch and pillowed your 
head upon feathers. 

The glaring lights of brothels did not shoot athwart 
the paths of your good citizens. 

He who was hungering after righteousness was at- 
tracted to you as if by a magnet. 

In those days no man dared offer a price for your 
chastity. 

The sound of electric pianos in gilded halls of vice 
did not fill your avenues with grating notes of common 
tunes ; there was no opposing sound to drown the strains 
of religious song as they ascended in praises from the 
throats of thankful and dutiful worshipers. 

Your houses of God were crowded, while beneath 
their proudly ascending steeples knelt devout men and 
women in great numbers. 

You had no fear of the traitor then; there was none 
within your gates seeking to put you in the hands of the 
enemy. 

You were full of life and your vigor of youth was 
cause for envy among those who cherished your place. 

Trustworthy keepers managed your affairs and you 
had nothing to fear. 

When you dined the best was upon your table, and all 
^vere welcome at your festal board. 

At this time you had never wandered from your 
father's house. 



AND Pool of Blood 179 

Your locks were long and your God-given strength was 
still with you. 

You asked for bread at the hands of none. 

The opportunity you then offered has never been sur- 
passed. The fruits of your orchards were not worm- 
eaten ; their, lusciousness was unequalled. 

None feared to approach you ; your spotlessness invited 
inspection. 

The stones of time hold a record of what you were. 

Having everything to brag of, boasting was not neces- 
sary. 

Men were only too anxious to tell the facts concerning 
you as an inducement for others to come. 

Your pillars rested upon a firm foundation and you 
could not be shaken. 

Those in the flock with you were content to follow 
your leadership. 

Your doors have been wide open to the fortune- 
seeker, and when he crossed your threshold he was re- 
ceived with a warm welcome. 

You have given birth to men who have become leaders 
in their land. 

Your future as a great commercial center was not 
questioned. 

You were ever alert for the prospector, and when he 
came and stuck pick through your surface he made a 
lucky find when he panned his diggings. 

From the boldest to the meekest of your sons the 
stranger heard your praises. 

Being blessed by nature, you showed your appreciation 
by being what you were intended to be. 

You were bathed in drops of gentle rain and warmed 
by tempered rays of friendly sunshine. 



180 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

Every man who called you home was willing to give 
you a forward push. 

Pulsing through your veins was the rich blood of 
health. 

You were the fairest part of the "dimple of the uni- 
verse/' 

Having kind masters, you were well housed and amply 
provided for. 

Your sweet dreams by night were realized by day. 

As a fair bride you had all the comforts love could 
bestow. 

The wayfarer found welcome shelter under your roof, 
and he departed upon his journey with a light heart. 

Those thrown around you as a guard did their duty; 
the enemy could not enter. 

The beauty of your face called for a second look. 

You kept your lamp trimmed and burning. 

The raging floods did not submerge you; your dykes 
were strong and could not be swept away. 

Living in Eden, you basked in the sunshine upon the 
banks of the sparkling Euphrates: 

You lived in the "land of milk and honey." 

When the rains came and the winds blew your door 
was closed and your roof was in order. 

The assassin held no terrors for you. 

From your orchard of love you gathered the sweetest 
and most toothsome fruits. 

You stored not away your treasures, but left the chest 
open for all. 

Fishing upon silvery streams, only gold fish struck at 
your hook. 

The servant problem caused you no concern; long 
lines of competent and eager helpers yearned to serve you. 



AND Pool of Blood 181 

Of the whole vast flock you were the shepherd's 

favorite. 

Your coffers were full and with a lavish hand you sup- 
plied the wants of your sons. 

In holding out against the siege you were a modern 
Troy. 

There was no traitor bold enough to attempt your 

betrayal. 

Being reasonable in what you did, everyone had faith 
in what you might do. 

From a good investment you were reaping big divi- 
dends. 

You were always seen in good company and your 
deportment was excellent. 

Of all your sister craft you were the most stalwart. 

At your head were men of brains; you benefited by 
their superior knowledge. 

Because of your geographical position you should have 
been the South's greatest center of shipping and travel. 

There was none more charitable than you. 

You were the queen bee in a hive of "workers." 

If there were those who would traduce you they feared 
to give speech to their thoughts. 

Not having broken a mirror, you had not counted on 
seven years of bad luck. 

You gave employment to all who asked it. 

Your sobriety being known, you were never asked to 
partake of strong drink by your companions. 

The weakening eflfect of dissipation was a thing you 
knew not of. 

The teacher's rules you rigidly observed, and your 
monthly report card showed you to have received the 
highest per cent in every study; you were perfect. 



182 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

Your landmarks, left as traces of great men and 
greater deeds, attest what you were. 

Your beauty was more than skin deep. 

As a fitting place for such a structure, the matchless 
Sam Jones erected a vast temple within your borders 
and consecrated it to God. 

Your sons have gone out into all avenues and found 
themselves equipped to meet and master the world. 

On the Sabbath your people went to your houses of 
worship to pray and received sufficient strength for the 
coming week. 

Political trickery was a thing unknown as an avenue 
to your offices. 

The private and pure lives of your citizens were not 
pried into by unscrupulous and heartless semi-civilized 
human beings to gain their own nasty ends. 

The cry of fraud was not heard after each of your 
elections; men were trusted then who did your duties 
for you. 

Those who unhesitatingly claimed you as the place of 
their birth have assisted in writing the history of the 
countries of the world. 

Your needs of the past are written in red on your 
country's glorious record. 

There was no Vesuvius to erupt and bury you under 
molten rock and beds of ashes. 

You were a "Happy Hunting Ground" on earth, and 
unrestrained your braves followed the chase through 
your field and wood. 

The characters of your good people were free from 
the tongues of liars ; there was no place for the slanderer 
under your roof. 

The political reprobate was forced to operate in other 
fields. 



AND Pool of Blood 183 

The Pope had not placed his foot upon your neck, and 
you were not ground down by his unwholesome church 
and willing puppets. 

Protestantism gave you her followers as servants, and 
you were not in constant fear of having your costly fur- 
nishings stolen. 

The criminal foreigner had no voice in your affairs 
and you were run on "the American plan." 

Your business organizations did not have to manufac- 
ture good stories to circulate concerning you; the truth 
was then the best that could be said of you. 

You had not been seized in the clammy tentacles of the 
unfeeling octopus and dragged to the watery depths 
where he reigns. 

The secret ballot was not in existence to assist secret 
crime. 

The right of suffrage was considered by your voters 
a thing too sacred to be sold to whomsoever might be in 
the market, 

"Come to Nashville" was the proud invitation your 
every citizen was glad to extend to friends back home. 

You were truly the "City of Rocks ;" you were upon a 
firm foundation. 

You did not have to be veneered ; you were solid 
mahogany. 

There is no dross in your make-up; you were of the 
purest metal. 

You housed no man willing to work who had an empty 
dinner pail. 

On your hearthstone blazed a cheering and warming 
fire. 

Pussy-gutted beer drinkers did not gather around your 
polls on election day and harass your dutiful sons while 
they were exercising the right of citizenship. 



184 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

Decency ruled you and the scum was not allowed to 
gather about you. 

As a place for homes you were ideal ; your atmosphere 
was perfect. 

You were not forgotten in a scramble for money and 
position. 

You were an honor to your state and a credit to your 
nation ; all paid homage to you. 

You did not know the stain of crime, and there was 
nothing to retard your progress. 

Each one of your citizens had an equal chance with 
the other: favoritism was unknown. 



AND Pool of Blood 185 



NASHVILLE OF TODAY. 

Nashville, you are surely in a bad way. 

The devil's emissaries are completely in charge of you. 
They are conducting your affairs, and God's methods are 
well-nigh throttled. 

At one time you v^ere a gem filled with rare luster, but 
now your black depths fail to give off the faintest ray 
when the reflector is turned on you. 

From a Jerusalem you have degenerated into a Sodom. 

Once boasted of as the home of institutions of moral 
learning, you have become a school for vice. 

Within your borders crime is rampant, while your 
churches seem not able to disseminate good in sufficient 
amounts to cause you to become conscience stricken. 

From the best you have sunk to the worst; from the 
highest you have gone to the lowest. 

All men point to you with shame, where once they 
spoke of you with pride. 

From a city of churches and schools (though they are 
still here) you have turned to a city of dives and dens. 

You have held your head high with pride; now it is 
drooped with shame. 

Crime stalks about your thoroughfares with head erect; 
while dejected and forgotten law gropes aimlessly about. 

Haughty and courageous vice carelessly elbows unsus- 
pecting and unguarded virtue. 

Lewd denizens of the under-world brazenly promenade 
your streets, while blushing and timid purity is forced to 
search for safer passages. 



186 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

Your laws are trampled upon and your officials heed 
it not. 

Diamond-studded gamblers stand upon your pave- 
ments, and with smooth tongues entice the uninitiated 
to the slaughter. 

The finger of scorn is pointed at you from without, 
where once you were honored by your neighbors. 

Instead of being a credit to your state as of yore, Ten- 
nessee now knows you as a disgrace and a burden. 

At one time you were pointed to as a paragon; now 
you are spoken of as a poor example. 

You were once the proud "Athens of the South/* but 
you have fallen. 

From the bitter cup you have freely drunk; and there 
is not yet in sight an assuaging draught 

You have taken a dose of poison ; but you were told it 
was a sedative. 

You were warned and you heeded it not. 

You believed the hypocrite and turned from the truth- 
teller. 

The straight and narrow road was pointed out to you, 
but the fake grandeur of the broad way was too alluring 
and you heeded its beckoning. 

Within your borders the sinner rules where once the 
saint held sway. 

You are the blackest spot on an unwilling and helpless 
state. 

The white robes you once proudly wore have dragged 
in the mire until they have become unrecognizable. 

Your old-time fair name is besmirched, and you are 
supplying slander for the gossip of your neighbors. 

You have acted a fool and the dunce-cap graces your 
head. 



AND Pool of Blood 187 

At first you sipped at the wine just to see how it would 
taste ; now you are a confirmed drunkard. 

Trustworthy architects planned your future, but you 
have long since lost the drawings. 

You have been a bold leader ; now you are a timid fol- 
lower. 

You have made sport of your sister over on the big 
river, but she is now enjoying the proverbial last laugh. 

You are a wreck and the winds still beat against you. 

You have been a grand city ; now you are a grand fake. 

The usurer preys upon your citizens while those who 
can protect them look the other way. 

You have been short-changed and there is no help near. 

The pirates have captured you and you will have to 
"walk the plank." 

The vampires are sucking your blood and you are 
growing weaker from its loss. 

The card sharks have given you an unfair deal; you 
cannot win with the pasteboards stacked against you. 

At one time your name meant much; now it means 
nothing. 

The hounds are baying at your heels and there is no 
friendly tree near. 

You have made your sons wealthy and they use their 
riches against you. 

Your sons of dives allow only the crumbs to the chil- 
dren of Lazarus. 

You have chosen a bed of thorns, while the couch of 
softness was offered you. 

The white lights of your dens of iniquity are more 
attractive to your citizens than the soft rays illuminating 
your temples of God. 

You hold out more hope to the seeker of crime than 
encouragement to the searcher after righteousness. 



188 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

Your good citizens weep for you while those who have 
blackened your name laugh at their work. 

You have sold your birthright for a mess of pottage. 

The sweet strains of heavenly anthems that penetrated 
your pure atmosphere have given away to the harsh 
tones of worldly music set free by the dropping of a coin 
upon the trip-hammers of costly instruments in your pro- 
tected brothels. 

The spires of your churches that have proudly pointed 
heavenward from a God-fearing city, now seem to be 
only holding themselves aloof from the filth below. 

You have been betrayed for thirty pieces of silver, but 
the traitor is not clamoring for a piece of rope with which 
to hang himself. 

You are dead and the vultures sicken at the stench 
which arises from your carcass. 

Those whom you selected as your keepers have sold 
you into slavery. 

You have dined at a sumptuous board; now you are 
eating with the swine. 

You are a travel-worn prodigal, and the fatted calf 
and protecting shoulder are yet afar off. 

You were a Samson, but your locks have been shorn 
while you slept confidingly upon the knee of your trusted 
Delilah. 

You asked for bread and received a stone. 

You offered opportunity and the devil availed himself 
of it. 

Your fields were sprouting good grain, but the enemy 
sowed tares broadcast in them while your laborers slept. 

You are a leper and must shout "unclean" when ap- 
proached. 

Your virtues have been chiseled in the rocks, but now 
your deeds are only worthy to be written in the sands. 



AND Pool of Blood 189 

You have been boasting of your greatness, but now the 
boosts of your boosters are heeded not. 

Once you were proud to herald the truth of your con- 
dition abroad ; now Hes only suffice to attract to you. 

At first your house was builded upon a rock, but you 
have removed it to a foundation of sand, and it is 
crumbling beneath the weight of your sins. 

You have been a leader of the flock, but you have now- 
wandered from the fold. 

Your house has become dirty and the dust from your 
unsanitary floors is blown into the homes of your help- 
less neighbors. 

You were praying in the garden and the soldiers came 
upon you unawares. 

You went snipe hunting and were left to hold the bag. 

You made a draw at the lottery and drew a blank. 

From a righteous Oberammergau you have developed 
into a sin-burdened Monte Carlo. 

Your helm has been deserted and you are drifting upon 
the breakers. 

With a free hand you have meted out blessings ; now 
you are receiving only curses in return. 

You have been charitable, but your kindness has been 
taken advantage of. 

For gratefulness you have received ingratitude. 

At your once fair breast a snake is feeding. 

The money changers are in your temple and there is 
no whip of small cords raised against them. 

The Jews have nailed you to the cross and there is no 
Joseph to furnish a sepulchre in which to lay your bleed- 
ing body. 

You have advertised yourself as a gateway to the 
South, while you can only offer a passage to hell. 



190 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

You were God's jewel; now you are. Satan's black 
diamond. 

Ignorance is enthroned at your head and you are 
judged by its incompetency. 

You are lost in the desert and the camel train passes 
not near you. 

Your mainmast has been torn away and the smaller 
sheets of canvas cannot gather wind enough to force 
your hulk through the troubled waters. 

You chanced a leap from the balloon and your para- 
chute failed to open. 

You have boarded the "Fool Killer" and are racing 
toward the great falls. 

You were playing truant and the ice broke with you. 
While in the throes of a spell of somnambulism you 
walked overboard. 

While searching after righteousness you were enticed 
away from the hunt by thieves and thugs. 

Your pilot fell asleep and a snag tore a gaping hole 
in your bottom. 

Evil companions robbed you of your good name. 
You were standing on high ground and the tide has 
risen about you. 

The bloodhounds have chased you to the dark and dis- 
mal swamp. 

You lost your ticket to the circus and you are carrying 
water to the elephant. 

You staked all you had on a horse race; you were 
given the wrong tip. 

You bought stock on a high market and there was a 
slump. 

While the pumps were frozen you caught fire. 
A tempting vegetable was handed you and you bit deep 
into an Indian turnip. 



AND Pool of Blood 191 

You are seasick and the swaying of the ship increases 
your nausea. 

Not knowing the way of wild fruit, you ate a green 
persimmon. 

In trying to seize a hare you caught a skunk. 

You buried your treasure and dug up a chest of com- 
mon junk. 

You were anghng for trout and landed an eel. 

Your servants went on a strike and you are the victim 
of green help. 

You ordered mushroom and the cook served you with 
toadstool. 

In counting his flock the shepherd finds he has only 
ninety and nme. You have strayed into the hills. 

You have handled poison ivy and your skin is peeling 
off. 

It is true you might not have known the gun was 
loaded, but it shot you just the same. 

You entered the field to steal a watermelon and fled 
with a citron. 

You search in vain for a bone for your dog ; your cup- 
board is bare. 

Your picture is hanging in the rogues' gallery. 

You were drowning and turned from the life-boat and 
grabbed at a straw. 

You let down your walls and admitted the Grecian 
horse. 

You are in purgatory and are silly enough to think the 
prayers of the priest will aid you. 

You started upon the tracks without looking and your 
mangled remains are scattered upon the right of way. 

You blew out the gas and failed to raise the window. 

Judas has delivered you according to contract. 

You turned a deaf ear to reason. 



19^ Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

In trying to wade the stream you missed the ford. 

The confidence man sold you a gold brick and your 
drills fail to discover a trace of the precious metal. 

You set a trap to catch a bird of rare plumage and 
captured a buzzard. 

The PhiHstines are upon you and you have not the 
''jawbone of an ass" with which to combat them. 

You changed the bill and it was counterfeit. 

Your captors have you lashed to the stake and there 
is no one to pay your ransom. 

You have been stabbed in the back and the assassin 
goes unpunished. 

You are in the lions' den, but the beasts do not recog- 
nize in you a second Daniel. 

Dying of thirst, there is no Moses to smite the rock 
that you may have drink. 

Your roof is leaking and the tinner cannot find his 
tools. 

The dog wagged his tail and you misconstrued the 
signal. 

You dodged from a bee and tread upon a snake. 

You ate of the forbidden fruit and the freedom of 
Eden is denied you. 

While placing sacks of sand upon your levee to keep 
back the rising waters, muskrats tunneled through its 
base and the floods are upon you. 

Your lamp is without oil; you will not be allowed to 
partake of the "wedding supper." 

Because of the blemishes upon your face you are com- 
pelled to wear a veil. 

You cast your pearls before a lot of swine. 

Your pickets went to sleep and the enemy slipped 
through your lines. 



AND Pool of Blood 193 

In giving shelter to a wayfarer you admitted a spy 
to your secret chambers. 

You reached down to pick up what appeared to be a 
coin; somebody had spit like a nickel. 

You made a dive for the fat purse and now ''April 
Fool" is shouted at you from all sides. 

You carried on your courtship by correspondence and 
took the final step without inquiring beneath the surface. 

You caught the bear and cannot turn it loose until help 
arrives. 

While you slept and dreamed of a sweet meal on awak- 
ening, someone slipped into your cabin and ate your 
'' 'possum an' taters.'^ 

You cast your lot with a bewitching maiden and found 
too late that her beauty was only skin deep. 

You have been driven in the streets by a cruel master 
and it requires all your alertness to avoid the net of the 
dog-catcher. 

A turtle has a firm hold upon you and there are no 
signs of an approaching thunderstorm. 

Your veins are choked with foul gore and there is no 
phlebotomist to relieve the blood pressure. 

Strong shoulders have given you boosts; now you are 
howling at the point of the politician's boot. 

You are a sore spot on the face of the earth and the 
foul corruption that is flowing from you is polluting 
your protesting neighbors. 



194 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 



HOW TO GET A POSITION OF PUBLIC TRUST. 
NASHVILLE OFFERS OPPORTUNITY. 

I must confess to getting revelations sometimes, 
though they are divested of the supernatural feature. I 
am not able to say, however, that the authors of these 
revelations don't receive the inspiration from the king of 
a tropical country. At all events, I had it revealed to 
me how not to get elected. I thought that the right way 
was to try to convince the voters that I was capable of 
doing what they wanted done — (or what they said they 
wanted done) — ^and that I could be depended upon to 
do it. 

Well, the result showed that I was a very "dense" 
member, for I found that what they wanted done was 
what somebody else wanted done, and not them at all; 
that I had taken the wrong pig by the tail. I found that 
a large number of the greatest business men and most 
exemplary christians (on Sunday) were too busy to go 
and find out what ought to be done, and had to go and 
ask men engaged in "other lines" of business who didn't 
fool away their time going to church on Sunday, to find 
out what ought -to be done and who to vote for to get 
it done. I didn't ask these fellows anything about it and 
there's where I lost out. I thought that if I could make 
them believe that I was all right I would be elected sure. 
They evidently believed it, for I was defeated. 

But I got the revelation and am here to tell you that 
if you want to get elected in this neck of the woods, and 
are not able to prove that you are the biggest liar, the 



AND Pool of Blood 195 

most accomplished hypocrite and unreliable puppet that's 
on the track, you have about as much chance to get 
elected as "Dives had to warn his brothers of the wrath 
to come," for candidates generally have a record to prove 
these things, and they are the only ones that get enough 
votes to be elecied. Then the majority opposes putting 
one of these meddlesome fellows in office lest he go to 
enforcing some of these fool laws that were passed by 
the legislature of 1909. They don't want that sort of 
judge, sheriff or attorney-general, and for mayor they 
want a man that will keep the police from getting trou- 
blesome, and above all be able and willing to swing the 
pendulum the right way on each election day; a man 
that's a law unto himself, able to annul or repeal any 
laws that we don't need and substitute such as we do, a 
man that keeps *'ready-made^' laws always in stock to 
fit every emergency ; a man who thinks a good mayor will 
not want much power, or that a bad one can have enough. 
Fortunately we have such a mayor now. As a conse- 
quence we can quietly pursue our business and have no 
disturbance (only what we m.ake). He is a very shrewd 
politician and can always elect anybody he pleases, and 
he always pleases us. When he sees they are not going 
to vote the right way, he at once produces a law some- 
times called the "boodle act," with proper penalties for 
violation, and that brings a lot into line, and what is 
known as the commission "firing act" catches the rest. 
So you see our mayor has the whole thing in his pocket 
and can keep us properly represented in state, county and 
city, the only trouble being for him to determine which 
candidate is the most contemptible cuss among them, and 
he seldom makes a mistake, but the candidate makes a 
big mistake when he goes to talking morality, decency, 
honest dealing, fair elections and that sort of rot instead 



196 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

of trying to convince the mayor that he is ready to 
sneeze whenever his honor takes snuff. 

But the people who want office are getting their eyes 
opened, even huge corporations that want to get fran- 
chises know that they must first get the mayor. The new 
gas company realized that and proceeded to get him first 
— then they struck open water with icebergs out of the 
way and got the franchise. 

Charlie Longhurst got the mayor and got the nomina- 
tion for sheriff. Likewise A. B. Neil holds the nomina- 
tion for criminal judge, but Borum got to meddling in 
the mayor's business and went where the woodbine 
twineth. 

Nashville does indeed offer opportunity to the stranger 
that enters her gates, much of which has been told you 
through the medium of our many enterprising industrial 
organizations, but the subject is inexhaustible, and any- 
one familiar with conditions existing may travel if they 
so desire the entire route from Dan to Beersheba, telling 
at each stop a different opportunity, but not to leave the 
mayor too abruptly. We will begin by telling some of 
the opportunities that his honor must be consulted about. 

If you happen to have an appetite for an official posi- 
tion, you have a splendid opportunity to get it. If you 
can convince his honor that you are the meanest applicant 
or man that will take it — likewise a nomination — and to 
hold the office when you get it, youVe only to "make 
good." He doesn't like men who deceive him. When 
there is a vacancy in the city departments anywhere you 
have a very good opporunity to get a job, but to hold it 
and steer clear of the firing board, it would be the part 
of expediency to throw up your hat, shout hurrah for 
straight democracy and vote for whosoever his honor has 
slated. If you find no vacancy, you have the "oppor- 



AND Pool of Blood 197 

tunity" of tramping — largely on granitoid pavements — 
looking for something else to do, which beats rough brick 
pavements out of sight, and if you have rented a house 
and tramped around looking for a job until your means 
are exhausted, you are not denied the "opportunity" to 
get out of it and camp out. 

There is a state law here forbidding the sale of intoxi- 
cants, but if you wish to do so anyway you have only to 
conform to the manner prescribed by his honor, and 
there's another opportunity, likewise a gambling house 
or brothel. 

If you are a student desiring to attend school here — 
and to go on a "lark" and liven things up occasionally — 
you have the "opportunity" to apply to his honor, who 
will give you a card of immunity from police interference, 
with a coupon attached, directing said police to see you 
safely home and in bed. This is a special opportunity 
offered by no other city. In short, you are oflFered oppor- 
tunity to do anything his honor may direct, coupled with 
the opportunity to fight shy of everything that is dis- 
tasteful to him. But there is one thing that I overlooked 
which deserves special notice, to-wit: if you happen to 
have legislative aspirations you have an opportunity for 
that, only when you have satisfied his honor that you are 
absolutely fit for nothing else. 

In case you should write a book and don't say anything 
about anybody or any thing in the book, you have an 
excellent opportunity to get it published, by paying not 
more than double what it would cost in Chicago or New 
York. But if you mention the name or names of any 
of our prominent citizens, state anything in your book 
that is true, Nashville offers you the opportunity of going 
somewhere else to get it published. See what a fine free 
ad. you get there. 



198 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

Again Nashville offers you the opportunity to become a 
candidate in any of her primaries by simply staking the 
''ante/' which ranges from $5.00 for a delegate to go to 
a convention, to $500.00 to be a candidate for governor. 
Now I imagine I hear some one say that's an outrage 
and discriminates against the man of limited means. 

To all such I say, look at the opportunity. A man has 
to bring himself into prominence, which must precede 
getting into office. Again Nashville offers opportunity 
to a man to realize on his suffrage with no liability for 
disagreeable or dangerous consequences. He has only to 
practice discretion and good judgment to get his full 
value at any election. This is considered by many as the 
surest, safest and easiest road to wealth, prosperity and 
happiness. Abundant opportunity is also afforded to 
''buck the tiger" in guilded palaces or low dives, as a 
man's inclination may direct. 

If a man happens to engage in a "strictly legitimate 
and honorable business and conduct it on strictly honor- 
able principles"^n some lines — he has the finest oppor- 
tunity in the world to create a monopoly without 
assistance, for he will have no competitors. 

It is a source of wonder, almost a miracle, that with 
such magnificent opportunities that people are not count- 
ing the tics and stumbling over each other to get here. 
It is reasonable to suppose that they haven't heard about 
it. 

We suggest to non-residents who want to send their 
sons here to college, that they just employ a gambling 
expert to give them a graduate course, as a matter of 
self-protection, as Nashvitte offers no opportunity along 
that line. 



AND Pool of Blood 199 



THE NASHVILLE FARCE, ERRONEOUSLY 
CALLED A CRIMINAL COURT, BUT PROP- 
ERLY A CITY OF REFUGE FOR DIA- 
MOND-STUDDED CRIMINALS. 

To make myself fully understood, it is necessary to 
begin at the trial of the Coopers for the murder of Sen- 
ator Carmack. This was one of the fairest trials on the 
records of any criminal court. The jury was most care- 
fully selected and accepted by both the defense and 
prosecution. The judge in his rulings gave the defense 
the benefit of the doubt in every instance. The jury 
returned a verdict of murder in the second degree and 
fixed the penalty at twenty years* confinement in the pen- 
itentiary. The case went to the supreme court and early 
in April, 19 lo, was affirmed as to Duncan B. Cooper, who 
was pardoned by the governor in the self same hour. As 
to Robin J. Cooper, the case was remanded on a tech- 
nicality. It is generally believed that the governor was 
in a position that practically compelled him to pardon the 
Coopers, the governor admitting that as personal and 
political friends it was his desire to do so. 

At this time the governor's political star was rapidly 
waning. Jeff McCarn was attorney-general, and he, the 
governor, had a good reason to believe that before Robin's 
case would reach him — in the regular routine — his term 
of office would expire. The question disturbing him then 
was how to get Robin cleared. The very sudden and 
unexpected death of Judge Hart opened up a possible 
way — he could make the appointment of his successor 



200 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

contingent on an assurance that Robin Cooper would be 
acquitted in his court. Whether he did that or not I don't 
know. The reader must judge that by the clandestine 
manner in which he was acquitted, which is here ex- 
plained : 

The case was docketed and time set for trial and pub- 
lished in the newspapers. When the day set for trial 
was at hand, the Hon. G. T. Fitzhugh, of Memphis, who 
was associate counsel in the original trial, came from 
Memphis to offer his services as aid in the prosecution, 
fully equipped with all necessary information for the 
prosecution of the case, and was turned back by false 
information obtained from the criminal court clerk's office 
— that the trial had been postponed. Next in order that 
same day was the appearance at this "Nashville Farce" 
of those interested in the defense, ready for trial. The 
case being called, the attorney-general very promptly 
advanced with a "nolle prosequi," asking the court to 
allow it on the grounds that he was "perfectly helpless," 
the witnesses had all "vamoosed the ranch," no one had 
consulted him in the capacity of prosecutor and he could 
do nothing. He had evidently forgotten, or never knew, 
that his duty was to prosecute ex-officio, and if those 
things failed to come to him of their own accord, to look 
about a little and see if he could find them. Well, the 
judge admitted the plea without protest or suggestions, 
and at the request of the attorneys for the defense called 
up a jury from the regular panel and ordered a verdict 
of acquittal, and Robin Cooper, the murderer of Senator 
Carmack, was a free man, notwithstanding he was a felon 
convicted by the verdict of twelve jurors. (And Judge 
Neil says they are as competent to render justice, or more 
so, having heard evidence, than a supreme court who had 
only read it.) 



AND Pool of Blood 201 

Since demagogues choose "darkness rather than light" 
to concoct their wily schemes, the only way the general 
public can get a knowledge of things it has a right to 
know is to combine rumor, logic and circumstantial evi- 
dence, and form its conclusions therefrom. It is rumored 
that the judgeship was tendered another gentleman and 
was declined because of a string dangling from it. 

Circumstances point to the rumor as consistent with 
the logic of events both before and after the appointment 
was made, and if that rumor is true, why should a string- 
less position be given to another? Echo answers, Why! 

Closely following this acquittal, some of the attorneys 
who had been connected with the original prosecution 
made a futile attempt to get the case reinstated on the 
docket, but were curtly informed by the judge that there 
was no such case in the court, which, of course, was true, 
since it had been juggled out in a manner similar to a 
snake juggling out of its skin. Would an honorable, 
unsubsidized court tolerate such a farcical administration 
of justice as that? Would it not rather resent and hold 
for contempt the author, or even an insinuation that it 
would? I leave the case with every rational reader who 
is not subsidized to decide as to the logic of these deduc- 
tions. 

About this time the clamor for the enforcement of the 
liquor laws had assumed magnitudinous proportions and 
was increasing in its intensity. Every criminal executive 
officer in the city with power and authority had ignored 
and practically nullified them, and this judge evidently 
felt it incumbent on him to say (not to do) something. 
It was getting rather warm for him ; an opportunity was 
afforded him at a meeting of the Nashville Business 
Men's Association on April lo, 191 1. I append an extract 
from his speech on that occasion, in which he declared 



302 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

what he wanted the pubhc to believe was his sentiment 
and intentions in the premises : 

"I wish to speak to you, gentlemen, concerning my 
business, as the court over which I have the honor to pre- 
side deals with matters in which every citizen is more or 
less interested. Every man should be willing to take 
time from his business to be interested in the affairs of 
his country. No business can go on unless it has the 
strong arm of the law thrown around it. Our courts, 
our laws, our branches of government are the product of 
toil and suffering and bloodshed of a thousand years, and 
yet you would be surprised at the number of the very 
best citizens who have no time to take even the smallest 
interest in matters that aft'ect the good of their country. 
How many business men are there who refuse to do their 
duty! In the position I occupy you can not appreciate 
the value that honorable men could be to me. A case 
came up before me the other day in which everyone was 
more or less interested, and to get a jury I had to draw 
a panel of 200 men ; 75 of these did not come at all, mak- 
ing it necessary for me to impose a fine of $25.00, and 
forty others came with affidavits as long as your arm, 
when it would have taken only about one and one-half 
hours to try the case. 

"I confess that the task has sometimes been discourag- 
ing and that I have sometimes felt that I stood alone in 
the important duties of the administration of the law. 

"We all want our city to prosper and continue to be 
as it is now, the greatest city in the Southland. We will 
all be glad when the fretful circumstances are past and 
Nashville can be seen from afar as an honor to this glo- 
rious state. I know I love my country and v/ant to see 
her in the midst of peace and prosperity, where all can 
enjoy life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, a«; is pro- 
vided bv the constitution and laws of the land." 



AND Pool of Blood 303 

These declarations met with a ready response from a 
large number of the order-loving citizens, including the 
officials of the Anti-Saloon League, who, collectively, re- 
ported more than one hundred cases of law violations by 
liquor men, with incontrovertible evidence to warrant an 
indictment and conviction in each case, but no indictments 
could be obtained from the grand juries which the judge 
had labored so strenuously to select from the "best citi- 
zens." 

Now, would not an honorable and unsubsidized court, 
cognizant of these facts, have ascertained who and how 
many were refusing to do a sworn and plain duty and 
discharged them from further service, instead of closing 
its eyes and granting them an honorable discharge at the 
end of the term? 

Both common sense and logic proclaim in thunder- 
tones that it would. 

It necessarily follows that the good citizens and Anti- 
Saloon League, having other fish to fry, ceased to be 
parties to so ridiculous a farce, and the matter rested in 
statu quo for a while, and the law-breakers and their best 
friend, "the city of refuge," were given a period of rest, 
the judge supposedly mourning over his failure to get his 
juries to indict and give opportunity to him and his 
attorney-general to "vigorously prosecute to the extent of 
the law," — which both were so eager to do. 

But their rest was broken awhile later, when the sheriff 
contracted a dangerous disease from which all crim- 
inal executives in Nashville were supposed to be immune, 
and began to stir up trouble, which resulted in a number 
of arrests, variously estimated and running up into the 
hundreds, but this grand jury had been vaccinated and 
no indictments could be obtained on positive evidence, and 
as the judge and attorney-general were still immune, this 



204 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

jury also maixhed out with the honors of war at the end 
of the term. 

At this juncture Governor Hooper gave out the fol- 
lowing statement, which explains itself. Let the reader 
bear in mind that the beneficiaries referred to must be 
one of five criminal executive officers, three of whom are 
officials in the "Nashville Farce," and the facts, when 
disclosed, might have implicated one or more of them, in 
which it would be a court sitting in judgment on its own 
acts, unless, indeed, the liquor men expected to use it in 
the grand jury room, and it would hardly require $25,000 
to buy two grand jury men, all that would be needed to 
quash an indictment. In this connection I append also 
the judge's letter to the governor and an editorial from 
the Nashville Banner corroborative of the positions as- 
sured relative to the "Nashville Farce :" 



"SAYS $25,000 WAS RAISED HERE— GOVERNOR 

CHARGES LIQUOR INTERESTS OF CITIES 

WITH GETTING UP CORRUPTION 

FUNDS. 

"Knoxville, Tenn., April 30. — In an interview printed 
here. Gov. B. W. Hooper, now at Mooresburg Springs, 
charges that funds are being raised in the cities of the 
state to prevent the enforcement of the prohibition laws. 
The governor says : 

" 'The people of the rural communities of Tennessee 
would be astounded if they could realize the conditions of 
corruption and semi-anarchy that exist in the cities of the 
state. There are thousands of good citizens in each of 
these cities, but the coalition between corrupt politicians 



AND Pool of Blood 205 

and the elements of lawlessness is completely dominant. 
Whenever attention is called to this fact, some fright- 
ened individual, claiming to be a "business man," always 
protests that the matter ought not to be mentioned for fear 
that the city will be hurt. To such a man it does not oc- 
cur that correction and not concealment is the safe and 
honest public policy. 

" *As an example of what I am talking about, within 
the last two weeks a corruption fund of $25,000 has been 
raised by the whisky dealers of Nashville for the express 
purpose of corruptly preventing the enforcement of the 
laws of Tennessee against the unlawful sale of whisky 
and beer in that city. 

" 'When I left Nashville this fund had not yet been 
paid over to the prospective beneficiaries, but it was in 
the hands of the agent of the whisky interests. Let it be 
understood, too, that the statements I have made are not 
haphazard guess-work. I am in complete possession of 
the facts. I know the amounts assessed against the con- 
tributors from the brewery and wholesalers on down to 
the little saloon keepers, and I know to whom the money 
was paid. 

" 'How much of this is going on in other cities cannot 
accurately be stated, but it is apparent that the laws are 
being nullified and justice thwarted in other cities, and 
somebody is doubtless being paid in some way for these 
results. 

" The country people of Tennessee will have to take 
these matters in hand and save the state from further 
disgrace at the hands of the municipalities. 

" 'When political committees have ceased to dicker, 
maneuver and manipulate for the personal and political 
advantage of more or less moribund politicians, and the 
deck has been cleared of national political considerations, 



206 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

these great questions of good government will be carried 
to the people for settlement/ " 



JUDGE A. B. NEIL'S LETTER TO GOV. HOOPER. 

"May I, 1912. — Gov. Ben W. Hooper, Nashville, Tenn. 
— Dear Sir : I notice an interview from you in which you 
state, among other things, that a corruption fund of 
$25,000 has been raised by the whisky dealers of Nash- 
ville for the express purpose of corruptly preventing the 
enforcement of the laws of Tennessee against the unlaw- 
ful sale of whisky, etc. 

''You further state that when you left the city the 
money had not been paid over to the prospective bene- 
ficiaries, but it was in the hands of the agent of the 
whisky interests. You are quoted as saying that you are 
in possession of the facts. 

"I have consulted the attorney-general of this county 
regarding your interview, and he assures me that he 
stands ready and anxious to prosecute to the fullest extent 
of the law any man who has ever received or agreed to 
receive a dollar, or any man who has ever offered to pay 
or who has paid one dollar for any such unlawful pur- 
pose. 

"It would give me great pleasure for you to give to the 
attorney-general such evidence as you may have in your 
possession, to the end that he may take suitable action in 
the premises. I urgently request you to do so. 

"The criminal court of Davidson County will be in ses- 
sion on or after Monday, May 6. 

"Very respectfully, 

(Signed) A. B. Neil." 



- AND Pool of Blood 307 

ENFORCING THE LAW. 
(Editorial from Nashville Banner.) 

"Judge Neil of the criminal court and State's Attorney 
Anderson express anxiety to know the names of the male- 
factors whom Gov. Hooper is reported to have said raised 
a corruption fund to prevent the enforcement of the anti- 
liquor selling law in Davidson County. This indication 
that the court officials are mindful of their duties would 
be quite comforting but for the record the criminal court 
of Davidson County has made in the past. 

"Last year, it will be remembered, that a number of 
high-class citizens tendered to the grand jury conclusive 
evidence of violations of the law on the part of a large 
number of liquor dealers. The grand jury failed to find 
indictments, and evidence is lacking to show that either 
Judge Neil or State's Attorney Anderson took any steps 
to have the grand jury do its plain duty. 

''Very recently the sheriff of Davidson County made 
numerous arrests of violators of the law against selling 
liquor. Many, of thgse arrested were taken in the act. 
The proof was plain and convincing. It was a matter of 
common knowledge before they were arrested that they 
were selling liquor. Yet not a single indictment was re- 
turned against any of these law-breakers. Why? 

"Judge Neil selected the grand jury and the state's at- 
torney was in attendance on that body. The state's attor- 
ney should have reported to the court any dereliction on 
the part of the grand jurors who refused to sign indict- 
ments when the evidence was plain, and under such 
circumstances it would have been the duty of the judge 
to- dismiss the offending jurors. 

"That was done by a judge in Chattanooga some time 



208 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

ago, and is a common and proper practice with judges 
everywhere. 

"It would be pleasing to know that the Davidson 
County court officials have become jealous of the honor 
of the state and are ready to make rigid enforcement of 
the law were it not for the patent failure of the judge 
and attorney-general to do their duty in the past. 

"Until action respecting these cases is promptly taken 
and prosecuted with vigor, very few citizens will have 
much, if any, faith in the disposition of the court to pun- 
ish those whom the governor may involve in the matter 
of bribery and corruption unless perchance the exposure 
should involve parties not now in harmony and sympathy 
with the powers that be." 

I also append the governor's reply to Judge Neil, and 
a letter to him from the mayor. The mayor's letter is 
inserted merely to show what variety of moral and intel- 
lectual timber Nashville is using in the construction of 
mayors. 



GOV. HOOPER'S LETTER TO JUDGE NEIL. 

"Mooresburg, Tenn., May 3, 1912. 

"Hon. A. B. Neil, Judge, Nashville, Tenn.— Dear Sir : 
A newspaper has just reached me containing your letter 
to me relative to the statement I recently made concern- 
ing the violation of the liquor laws in Nashville and the 
raising of $25,000 by the whisky dealers to purchase 
immunity from legal molestation. 

"I note that you have consulted the attorney-general of 
Davidson County and have received from him the 
assurance that he stands ready and anxious to prosecute 
to the fullest extent of the law any man who has received. 



AND Pool of Blood 309 

or agreed to receive, a dollar, or any man who has ever 
offered to pay, or who has paid, one dollar for such 
unlawful purpose. 

"I also note that it would give you great pleasure for 
me to give to the attorney-general such evidence as I may 
have in my possession. 

"I thank you for the interest you have taken in this 
matter and venture to make the following suggestions : 



TWO VITAL CHARGES. 

*'My newspaper interview to which you referred em- 
bodied in substance two vital charges: First, that there 
are brewers, wholesale liquor dealers and saloonists 
operating their business in Nashville; and, second, that 
many of them have recently raised a corruption fund of 
$25,000 to prevent the enforcement of the law against 
them. 

''While your letter does not indicate that you took up 
with the attorney-general the matter of enforcing the 
law against the flagrant violators of the liquor laws in 
the city, I assume that it will afford you equal pleasure 
to have me furnish the attorney-general proof against 
these violators also. I therefore make the following 
proposition to the attorney-general, through you : 

"First, I will furnish him plain, positive and conclusive 
evidence that several hundred men in various capacities 
are openly, publicly and notoriously violating the anti- 
saloon laws in the city of Nashville every day, and that 
saloons are conducted without concealment in the hotels 
and elsewhere throughout the business section of your 
city. These are not the occasional clandestine violators 
or the elusive bootlegger, but are committed in such a 

14 



210 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

flagrant way as to constitute the absolute nullification of 
the laws of Tennessee. 

"Second, I will furnish to the attorney-general the 
name of the man who collected and held the corruption 
fund above mentioned, the names of numerous liquor 
dealers who contributed to said fund according to their 
own admission, the names of several men to whom these 
admissions were made, the name of the attorney who 
represented the prospective beneficiaries and other minor 
details. 

QUESTION OF GOOD FAITH. 

''With these facts as a basis it ought to be an easy 
matter for the attorney-general to procure such additional 
evidence as is desirable if he prosecutes in good faith. 

"In this connection I will make frank the suggestion 
that the success of such an investigation and prosecution 
will be found to hinge not upon the evidence presented, 
but upon the character of the grand jury which considers 
it. No amount or kind of evidence would satisfy some 
of the grand juries you have had in the court. For 
example, the grand jury which recently served in your 
court had the most overwhelming evidence at its com- 
mand of the violation of the liquor law. Scores of open 
saloons had been raided, the whisky removed and the 
operators arrested in the act of making their customary 
sales, and yet no true bills were found in these cases. 
This is commonly considered by the public a greater dis- 
grace to your city, county and court than the raising of 
the corruption fund in question, especially in view of the 
fact that no motion was made either by the attorney-gen- 
eral or court to peremptorily discharge such recalcitrant 
grand jurors. 



AND Pool of Blood -^11 

"It is a well-known fact that you, as criminal judge, 
have absolute control of the selection of the grand jury 
of Davidson County. 

"Inasmuch as you have taken this matter up with me 
through the newspapers, I will say that merely as a mat- 
ter of common sense and business I do not care to indulge 
in the futile formality of presenting evidence to such a 
grand jury as this. 



AS TO UNFIT JURORS. 

*Tf you and the attorney-general decide to present to 
the grand jury the matters above set out I would like to 
have some sort of assurance from the attorney-general 
that when overwhelming evidence is furnished and 
ignored, he will move in open court the discharge of unfit 
grand jurors, as is so frequently done in the rural courts 
where the judge and attorney-general really desire to 
enforce the laws. 

"In any answer you may make to this communication 
kindly let me know whether the attorney-general will 
agree to prosecute the violators of the anti-saloon laws, 
as well as those connected with the raising of the cor- 
ruption fund, upon evidence furnished by me, whether 
he will assure me of his intention to use his legal power 
if necessary to purge the grand jury as above suggested. 

"I would also appreciate a statement from you as to 
whether or not you had already acquired information as 
to the raising of said corruption fund prior to my mter- 
view. Very respectfully, 

(Signed) "Ben W. Hooper." 



212 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 



MAYOR H. E. HOWSE'S LETTER TO GOV. BEN 
W. HOOPER. 

"Hon. Ben W. Hooper, Governor, Mooresburg, Tenn. 
— Dear Sir: You are reported in three Nashville dailies 
as having given out an interview from Mooresburg, in 
the wilds of East Tennessee, on April 19th, which reflects 
upon the good name and honesty of all county and city 
officials in Nashville and other municipalities of Ten- 
nessee. 

"You charge in this interview that a fund of $25,000 
has been raised by breweries, distillers and saloonists for 
the nullification of the state-wide prohibition law. 

"I have been mayor of Nashville for two years and 
seven months, and during this time I have never had 
any occasion to attack the character or impugn the mo- 
tives of any official or individual, but I have always 
defended my course and propose to continue this policy 
to the end of my term. 

"An honest governor with correct intentions would not 
have sneaked off like a thief in the night to East Ten- 
nessee under the pretense of a nervous break-down and 
there given out an interview reflecting on the honesty and 
integrity of all public officials, without naming a single 
individual, or giving any specific information which could 
be used by the constituted upholders of the law and de- 
fenders of the people in this and other municipalities of 
Tennessee. 

"It is both cowardly and contemptible for you to 



AND Pool of Blood ^13 

undertake to stain the good name of all officials in this 
state, when you have, as you claim, in your possession 
complete and accurate information in reference to some 
man or men, who have, as you state, been guilty of this 

offense. 

"You appear to be laboring under the delusion that 
the people in the rural communities of Tennessee are 
ignorant, uninformed and unacquainted with conditions 
in the various cities of this state, but in this you are 
sadly mistaken. How is it, governor, that you always 
make these raw breaks when away from Nashville on 
one of your periodical nervous break-downs ? 

ASKS FOR NAMES. 

"I now call upon you, as I have a right to do, to give 
the names of the guilty parties, the amount contributed, 
to whom contributed and all other information which you 
possess, or stand branded before the people of Tennessee 
as an irresponsible blatherskite, whose word cannot be 

believed. 

"I acknowledge before the world that the state-wide 
prohibition law is violated in the city of Nashville, in the 
same manner as it is violated in the city of Newport. 
This same state-wide, prohibition law is violated m every 
city in Tennessee with the knowledge and consent of a 
great majority of the people of these various municipali- 
ties. , 

*Tt has been charged publicly and privately, and never 
denied, that you and the man whom you appointed United 
States senator, raised a slush fund with which to pay the 
expenses and salary of the members at the last legisla- 
ture, who went to Alabama for the purpose of breaking 
a quorum. 



214 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

"I at one time assisted in breaking a quorum in the 
state senate, but every member of the senate who assisted 
in breaking this quorum paid his own expenses out of his 
own funds. Now if you want to giye the people of Ten- 
nessee some real live information, in which they are 
interested, please come out like a man and a real gov- 
ernor and tell them whether or not this oft-repeated 
charge is or is not true. . 

"I thought you had reached the limit of folly when you 
announced your desire to possess the authority to remove 
mayors and sheriffs and interchange judges to suit your 
own political ambition, but it seems now that you are 
anxious to name the grand juries in Nashville and else- 
where. 

DEFENDS JURORS. 

''You are too cowardly to call the names of any of the 
members of the late grand jury, but I want to tell you 
they were honorable citizens of Davidson County, and 
their characters and good names are immune from any 
slander which a nervous governor might make. 

"Have you forgotten the fact that Judge A. B. Neil 
recently made a race before the people in opposition to 
one of your anointed saints and was nominated by an 
overwhelming majority? 

"Is it not a fact that the attorney-general, the Hon. 
A. B. Anderson, made a race in the primary where he 
defeated the opponent by a large majority and was then 
opposed by one of your saints, who was in turn defeated 
by an overwhelming majority? These facts are a living 
testimony to the confidence which the people of Davidson 
County have in these officials, and no irresponsible charge 
which you can make will serve to reverse the decision of 
the people of this city and county. 



AND Pool of Blood '-^15 

"Now, governor, I have never given you credit for 
being overburdened with inteUigence, or possessing any 
patriotism at all, but why don't you be honest for a day 
and tell the people of Tennessee that the state-wide pro- 
hibition law is a complete failure; that it breeds law vio- 
lators, creates confusion, hurts business and keeps the 
minds of the people in a state of disturbance. We all 
know that you do not sincerely believe in state-wide pro- 
hibition, and that you simply took advantage of a political 
situation and thereby became an accidental governor, 
which has and will continue to be a misfortune to the 
state of Tennessee. 

"If you would devote as much time to the office of 
governor as you devote to abusing, criticizing and slan- 
dering the officials of this state, everybody would be 
benefited thereby, and it would not be necessary for offi- 
cials who do not have time to take a vacation of thirty 
days, six times a year, to be continiially answering irre- 
sponsible communications and refuting unfounded 
charges. 

"Give us your information now, or forever after hold 
your peace. Very respectfully, 

"H. E. HOWSE, Mayor.'' 

To the mayor's letter the governor made no reply, and 
in answer to a reporter, gave as his reason, "that a man 
in pursuit of more respectable game didn't leave the trail 
to chase pole-cats." Of course, every sane man knows 
(no matter what they say) that the governor would be 
a gillipod to submit his case for trial to a court whose 
officers might be so busy defending themselves that they 
would have no time to prosecute. 

The judge says, as quoted above, that "no business can 
go on without the strong arm of the law thrown around 



216 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

it." Hence, it follows, if this statement is correct, th^t 
the strong arm of the law is around the unlawful liquor 
business, since it is "going on" faster than any other 
business in town. 

This "City of Refuge" neither stops at the nullifica- 
tion of secular law, but controverts as well divine law, 
which says, in substance, that "rulers are a terror to evil 
doers." 

And the great Democratic party of Davidson County 
(on the shoulders of which they claim rests the redemp- 
tion and final salvation of the state) has re-elected this 
judge who, in five attempts since his induction into office, 
has failed to get a grand jury which would indict pro- 
fessional lawbreakers on incontrovertible evidence, or to 
find a cause for complaint against any of them for not 
doing so. 

If any of the foregoing facts are doubted, show us the 
man who had money or political prestige, who has re- 
ceived a sentence commensurate with his crime in Judge 
Neil's court. 



AND Pool of Blood 21? 



WHERE THERE'S A WILL THERE'S A WAY. 

When years ago, conditions became so intolerable in 
Nashville, that decency hid her face behind a veil of 
shame, that old patriot, A. S. Colyar, took the reins in 
his hands and the bit in his mouth and led a crusade 
against indecency and lawlessless, which completely 
routed them and placed order and respectability on the 
throne in their stead. Then he looked up the law years 
later. When the troubles at Coal Creek were rapidly 
growing in their intensity, John P. Buchanan, who was 
governor, called out the state guard and quelled the dis- 
turbance, and he also looked for the law later — if at all. 
When the Reelfoot tragedy occurred in 1908, the gov- 
ernor, M. R. Patterson, called out the state troops, created 
consternation in that country and never did look for the 
law, but the most effectual example of all was subsequent 
to the end of the Civil War. When conditions had become 
unbearable and the law was ignored "by the powers that 
were," there was an organization formed which was a law 
unto itself— known as the "Ku Klux Klan," but they 
brought order out of chaos, acting on the principle that 
"necessity knows no law." They gave the death blow to 
carpet bag rule and made it possible for the old Volun- 
teer to stand erect in her integrity and without shame 
in the presence of her sister states. The incidents cited 
were cases where necessity demanded action; from dif- 
ferent causes the law proved inadequate to afford the 
needed protection and the people, who are the source of 
all power, took matters in their own hands and no one 



218 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

has ever questioned the justice or propriety of their ac- 
tion. But what about the conditions existing now, when 
five successive grand juries have refused to indict open 
violators of a state law and have virtually said to the 
state, "You go to the devil with your laws, we care noth- 
ing about them. This is Nashville ; you keep your hands 
off; when we want your assistance, we will let you know. 
We are competent to make our own laws, constitute our 
courts, elect our officers and run things to suit ourselves ; 
we have fully proven our ability to do that, we have your 
sheriff tied, our friend, the judge can make him look 
like thirty cents and feel like he could creep through an 
auger hole, which he would doubtless like to do and pull 
the hole in after him, and we know that we can depend 
on our judge to see that we are not hurt to any extent, 
because he knows we have his job in our pocket, so just 
go on an' stop 'kickin' our dawg aroun'." 

Seriously, is not this a correct picture and can anyone 
point to a peg stout enough to hold the weight of a hope 
of bettering unlawful conditions in a lawful way? It is 
true that a legislature might be elected who would enact 
laws that would in time give some relief, but are the 
friends of law, order and decency numerically strong 
enough and wide awake enough to accomplish it, know- 
ing that thousands of dollars will be unlawfully used to 
prevent it, it being a small margin at best to those who 
have kept up with political methods employed in Ten- 
nessee and results of former contests? We know that the 
chance is a slim one and that there exists no other "and 
there you are," and what will you do about it? Tamely 
submit as weaklings to your state being held in bondage 
by a lawless crowd, who, by shrewd manipulation of 
political wires, have so strongly entrenched themselves in 
power that no legal way exists to supplant them, that you 



AND Pool of Blood 319 

may do, if you can content yourself to do it; otherwise 
it looks as though the necessity for a Ku Klux Klan was 
imperative and if it ever was justifiable to fight the devil 
with fire, it is now. A lawless gang have the state bound 
in chains, which are securely locked and the key (the 
law) thrown away, then what chance is there except to 
dynamite the fortifications, take out these faithless and 
perjured court officials, together with the mayor, and 
make them understand from experience, the real use and 
benefits of the old whipping-post law. 

When a patient is dangerously ill — a wise doctor hav- 
ing exhausted all known remedies that are absolutely 
safe — and seeing the patient gradually but surely sinking, 
resorts to such remedies that will — "kill or cure" — being 
justified by the fact that the patient is sure to die if he 
doesn't and may be saved if he does. The patient (Nash- 
ville) is very sick. There remains one safe remedy where 
there is barely a slim chance to eflPect a cure. If the 
people are now convinced that we have no criminal court, 
nor can have — without a judge — elect a Ku Klux Klan 
and apply the remedies that will kill or cure. 

If they are yet too blind and too indifferent to do any- 
thing, then stop talking, bow to Baal and let the city go 
to the devil or the dogs, as it may prefer. 

But remember, she deserves just what she will get. 



220 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 



THE ABSENCE OF RELIGION IN POLITICS A 
LEADING CAUSE OF BAD GOVERNMENT. 

I imagine I hear someone say: "Keep religion and 
politics separate; don't mix church and state; let the 
preachers preach the gospel and let politics alone, and 
other hackneyed expressions of similar import, the real 
object of which is to keep everybody out of politics, save 
such as are willing to prostitute the highest prerogative of 
an American citizen to the promotion of the interests of 
political demagogues. 

The majority of people who talk that way, if asked 
what is religion, would be at a loss for an intelligent 
answer, even if they were able to give a correct definition 
of politics. And the intelligent suffragist who really de- 
sires the right, but is possessed of that idea has evi- 
dently failed to give due consideration to the matter, or 
has a false conception of religion, and its proper relation 
to civic government. 

In the consideration of this subject it must be borne 
in mind that religion and sectarianism are two very dif- 
ferent things. Religion is a principle not to be adjusted 
at the will of the wearer, used on Sunday and pigeon- 
holed for the week, neither does it give immunity to any 
man from the duties of citizenship, but, on the contrary, 
gives emphasis to that duty, the most important phase 
of which is to employ his talents in the promotion of 
good and righteous government and the selection of the 
best men to constitute the "higher powers" to whom he 
is enjoined to subject himself. 

Now, the man who thinks he has religion and may lay 



AND Pool of Blood ^^1 

it aside when he enters pohtics, is only gifted with a 
superficial knowledge of it, and is ignorant of the ex- 
perimental teachings and spiritual discernment, by which 
he may rightly understand the teachings of holy writ. 
Nor do we find any parole given to preachers, and 
therefore, being citizens, they must perform the duties 
of such. 

Now, what is meant by rehgion in politics ? Certainly 
clean politics ; to bestow suffrage only on clean men, and 
for clean principles and to use his influence with others to 
that end, to openly and fearlessly advocate the right and 
condemn the wrong, on all proper occasions, and we can 
find no justification for the preacher who fails to do that, 
for it is clearly his duty to denounce sin wherever it is 
found, and certainly politics, especially in Nashville, af- 
fords a fruitful field, and the preacher who shirks the 
responsibility can find no better excuse than cowardice. 

What means the separation of church and state? Cer- 
tainly not keeping religion out of politics, or in other 
words, the principles of right as laid down in the scrip- 
tures. It means that no religious sect shall usurp the 
powers of civil government and conduct it in accordance 
with their particular creed or ecclesiastical law, as they 
conceive it. To illustrate: A government official shall 
not be required to be baptized in any particular form, or 
even baptized at all, unless he so desired, nor shall he 
be ineligible because he is baptized or is not a member of 
some particular sect. 

The constitution is clear in its provisions on this sub- 
ject, and, while permitting religion to enter politics, it 
clearly provides that sectarianism and denominationalism 
shall not, and certainly is more than tolerant, that the 
principles of religion shall be a fundamental principle of 
civil government. 



222 Tennessee's Pond of. Liquor 

Religion entering politics inquires as to the com- 
petency and integrity of a candidate, sectarianism wants 
to know if he is of my belief or creed. That it is the 
duty of all Christians to use every legitimate means to 
promote good civil government cannot be denied in the 
face of the injunction that "to him that knoweth to do 
good and doeth it not, to him it is sin." 

It is not the mixing of religion in politics, but the ab- 
sence of religious principles in politics that endangers the 
perpetuity of our free institutions and causes the founda- 
tions of our republic to tremble. 

The political party that embodies the most religious 
principles in its platform is the one best fitted to adminis- 
ter the affairs of state, in the manner best calculated to 
bring the greatest good to the greatest number. That 
this position is right and constitutional is evidenced by 
the fact that the people in the exercise of their sovereign 
suffrage have never elevated an outspoken unbeliever to 
any high position of honor and trust. Dynasties that 
have ignored these principles have crumbled while others 
with "religion in their politics" have built permanent 
structures on their ruins. 

The great and good Queen Victoria, on being asked by 
a foreign potentate the secret of her successful reign, 
answered, pointing to her Bible, "it is there." 

However, before religion can enter politics, it must 
first be engrafted into the voter, when it becomes auto- 
matic, for where the mind is enlightened by the spirit of 
divine truth, the voter needs no instructions as to how to 
mark his ballot. 

He will not on Sunday pray for blessings on his coun- 
try, and on Monday vote for curses. If relisrion is in the 
voter you can no more keep it out of politics than you 
can keep bribers and corruptionists out. The same crowd 



AND Pool of Blood ^^3 

that are so exercised with fear that religion will get 
into and "corrupt politics," are also very much disturbed 
lest woman shall do so, which is about as reasonable as 
the first. 

The Woman's Christian Temperance Union, realizing 
the fearful consequence to the coming generation, is 
rightfully using every lawful means to influence men to 
cast their suffrage for the destruction of this curse, which 
is the prime cause of a large majority of the crimes 
being committed all over the land. We know of no 
instance where it has made itself conspicuous touching 
any phase of politics only such as is embodied in this or 
other moral issues. 

Being the most praiseworthy organization extant 
today, and gathering its membership from the best class 
of people, and largely from the most consistent Christian 
families, as well as the most intellectual, it is as capable 
of determining . questions of right and wrong as any 
body of men. Its political work is uniformly conducted 
decently and in order, and, being the principal sufferers 
from the consequences and evils of bad government, 
owned and controlled by the vicious element, which ele- 
ment is largely composed of liquor men, gamblers and 
corporation bosses, who practically control politics be- 
cause of their ability to swing the majority. 

Now, this class, in making their little speeches about 
women in politics, are not explicit enough to make them- 
selves understood by the average voter. We who have 
given some study to politics, and try to read between the 
lines, in a measure, either in printed, or oral declarations, 
think we comprehend it. 

V/e think that it is only respectable, intellio^ent, Chris- 
tian women whom they object to, not the dirty denizens 
of black bottom who, notwithstanding their sex, were 



2M Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

paraded on the streets adorned with "straight democracy" 
badges at a recent election in the city. I am rather 
surprised that these "gentlemen" are not advocating 
woman suffrage, so they could buy the votes of these 
wenches to offset the effects of religion in politics. 

Woman wields a power in the land for which she has 
no concession. Being intellectually the peer of man, she 
is morally and spiritually his superior, and her influence 
for good is, therefore, more potent, and it is not to be 
wondered at that those who favor bad government should 
fear woman's influence in politics. No good citizen will 
object to the influence of good women in politics. 

But the amusing part of it is that these very chaps 
will brazenly proclaim themselves the champions of law, 
order, and morality. But we presume they mean vicious 
law, bad order, and loose morality. And I feel that I 
am not judging them, only "knowing the tree by its 
fruit." 

Men have proven that they are either unable or unwill- 
ing to promote decent government, and if the women 
don't take a hand to the extent of their influence, Gk)d 
save the country, for they can't make conditions worse, 
and may make them better. 

In this age of political degeneracy and duplicity, it is 
not surprising that men dread the purity, and truth, in 
their dirty politics, which radiates from the circle in 
which good women move. The following verses seem 
to be appropriate to this subject. 

ABOUT SALLY AND THE BALLOT. 

"This country is ruled by the people, we say, 
But not ruled by women; in consequence, they 
Cannot be called people, though pretty; 



AND Pool of Blood 225 

By this syllogistical solution we see 

That woman can't vote, in the land of the free, 

Though ever so handsome and witty. 

"We pity them ; also their half-blooded brats. 
The offspring of Woman and People; like bats 
They seem to be classified double ; 
And what this great nation, in future will do 
For full blooded people to carry it through 
Is the problem now giving us trouble. 

''Some think its solution can never be wrought, 

Unless we give Sally the ballot; this ought 

To work a complete revolution; 

While others believe that her talents should rust, 

Lie hid in a napkin and she in the dust, 

To wait for some slow evolution. 

"Would you blush to confess of a woman you're born, 

Deny your nativity even, and scorn 

That you're kin to your mother and sister? 

Did it ever occur to your mind when at school 

That the girl you picked for a wife was a fool? 

Did you think so the first time you kissed her? 

"O, shame be to him who unjustly complains 

That women like Sally have not enough brains 

To cast an intelligent ballot. 

This is a free country you know ; even men 

Are not bound by law to use common sense when 

They vote, if they find they don't have it. 

"Superior powers we doubtless possess; 
This fact even Sally, herself, will confess, 

15 



326 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

Having felt its relentless dominion — ■■ 
That physical force of the muscular brute, 
To which we resort when we fail to refute, 
By reason, a woman's opinion. 

*'Say not that this picture in colors is drawn 

Too vivid, for certainly muscle and brawn 

Stand guard over Sally's objection; 

For let her persist in attempting to vote, 

She'd first be admonished then seized by the throat 

For contempt of the laws of election. 

"The rumsellers' victim we drag from the ditch 

And call him good fellow, and label him, 'which 

Of the parties will dare to ignore him?' 

And then on a stretcher we give him a ride 

To the polls where he votes with American pride 

For the party that bids the most for him. 

"If Sally were willing to barter her vote 

For a new spring bonnet, or a seal skin coat, 

And vote while her husband was looking — 

If she'd swagger and swear, like a trooper or tar. 

And smoke a cob pipe or a nickle cigar, 

And spit on the stove while she's cooking — 

"If she'd flavor her breath with the essence of corn, 

Transmit to her children before they were born, 

A hankering after bad whisky. 

And bet on elections, the solons would say, 

'Yes, give her the ballot, she'll vote the right way — 

She's sound — neither cranky nor risky.' " 

— Selected. 



AND Pool of Blood 227 



THE INFLUENCE OF LIQUOR IN THE POLIT- 
ICAL ARENA, AND THE EFFECT ON GOOD 
CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN TENNESSEE. 

As the grand old Volunteer once felt impelled to 
secede from the general government on patriotic grounds, 
it looks as though she would now have to secede from 
the state government for reasons of equal force, since 
that government has become so vicious in its tendencies 
that the unthinking mind can scarcely have a conception 
of it. A governm.ent dominated and administered by a 
conscienceless oligarchy of political demagogues, the 
henchmen of soulless corporations and monopolistic in- 
terests, who would sacrifice their country on the altar of 
an unholy ambition, and greed for power, a gang of 
merciless vampires who heed not the tears of widows and 
orphans, care not for the destruction of the morals of 
the youth — on whose shoulders must soon rest the respon- 
sibility for the future weal or woe of the state, when it 
stands in the way of their unrighteous ambition. 

She must get from under the dominion of this soulless 
gang of chronic office-seekers, who will promise any- 
thing during their candidacy, and perform nothing dur- 
ing their encumbency, except such things as meet the ap- 
probation of the whisky trust and brewers' association 
and their corporate allies. 

She must fill her offices with men whose past record 
is a guarantee for future i>erformance ; men who are 
unpurchasable ; men who know the right and have the 
courage to defend it ; men who are not perpetual can- 



228 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

didates, and who, when called out by the people, prefer 
honorable defeat to election obtained by bribery and 
fraud. 

What kind of a spectacle have we before us now? 
Certainly the tail wagging the dog. The cities which 
are supposed to belong to the state, by the aid of vast 
corporations of which liquor is an important factor, by 
the use of money holding the balance of power, there- 
fore dictating the laws and electing the officers whose 
duty it is to enforce them, but will not, or at least only 
such as are in line with the will of the corporate liquor 
bosses to whom they owe their tenure. 

The great evil and chaotic conditions due to the ingress 
of liquor into the political arena had their birth at the 
time of, and consequent to, the Civil War. . The necessity 
for enormous revenue was met by taxing liquor, tobacco 
and things of corresponding character to a great extent ; 
and the states, seeing the large revenue derived by the 
government from liquor, and many of them being on the 
verge of bankruptcy, conceived the plan of extra license 
fees for engaging in the business to replenish their 
treasuries. 

The countries and cities fell into line, and the whole of 
our governmental structure was, as it is now, resting on 
foundations of whisky and beer barrels, not thinking or 
caring that this tax cost the liquor men not one cent, but 
came out of the pockets of the consumer, many of whom 
were poorly able to bear it, which caused thousands of 
women and children to be homeless, unfed and poorly 
clad, while it gave the excuse and furnished the tempta- 
tion to the liquor men to advance the price, and adulterate 
the liquor with all sorts of cheap poisons that would 
renew the strength taken from it by the copious use of 
"Adam's Ale.'' 



AND Pool of Blood 229 

Previous to that time the price was so low that 
adulteration was unprofitable, as liquor could be obtained 
at retail for twenty-five cents per gallon as good as you 
get now for three and four dollars. 

It soon became apparent that bad consequences result- 
ant to the traffic were intensified, and that some measures 
must be taken to protect the schools from the ravages 
of this fast growing evil, something dangerous to the 
schools, but must be tolerated because of the revenue 
it produced. There was but little opposition on the part 
of the better element to the traffic at that time, all seem- 
ing to think that the state would be forced into repudia- 
tion should that revenue be cut off. 

On the part of the liquor bosses there was but a 
minimum, for far-seeing politicians as they are, they had 
seen the writing on the wall, showing that the traffic 
must be modified in a measure to retard the growth of 
the prohibition party which had been born, but was grow- 
ing at that time but slowly. 

Further, the larger interests in the cities were willing 
to foster a monopoly, and the manufacturers knew that 
their business would not be curtailed in consequence. But 
it was the part of wisdom and sagacity to form a politi- 
cal alliance, which, of course, must be formed with the 
party in power, which was already in the toils of cor- 
porate domination, and the well filled coffers of the liquor 
bosses made that easy of accomplishment. They had only 
to contribute liberally to the campaign funds, and shout 
democracy in clarion tones and the work was done. 

Now, to avoid giving offense to our friends of the 
"straight" Democratic persuasion who dislike to hear it 
said that they belonged to the whisky crowd. We'll say 
that the whisky crowd belongs to them, and offer as proof 
the fact that the said whisky crowd uniformly gives them 



230 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

their individual support at every election, and that the 
said "straight" Democrats, neither in the legislative coun- 
cils of city or state, ever do, or attempt to do anything 
that evokes even a criticism from the aforesaid whisky 
crowd. Neither do they fail to enact, or attempt to en- 
act, all measures that will redound to their interest. 

Well knowing that, having no politics, they will give 
their support only where their interests demand, being 
Democrats in some states, Republicans in others. As the 
Jew is without a country, so is the liquor man without 
party. 

Little objection was made to the extension of the "four- 
mile law" until it became apparent that the business was 
endangered in some of the principal cities. Alarm spread 
in the camp, and at once all hands became local optionists. 
It was the last trench in which to make a stand against 
the now rapidly increasing army of prohibitionists. The 
laws, made by men elected by themselves, had been so 
outrageously violated that public sentiment had increased 
until the majority in the state was clearly for prohibition, 
but the cities had, and are likely to have, a majority the 
other way, and in the so-called Democratic party in the 
state they had unbounded confidence, well knowing there 
was no danger there. 

The crucial point was then reached, and the slogan of 
"straight" Democracy must be sounded from the hill 
tops and echoed in the valleys, lest the honest sentiment 
of all the people find expression at the polls, and the 
traffic be utterly destroyed. 

The first prominent fight where the lines were clearly 
drawn in the party ended in the defeat of Senator Car- 
mack in the primary of 1906, followed two years later 
by a second defeat in the primary for governor. 

Not anticipating a loss of the majority in the general 



AND Pool of Blood 231 

assembly, they were caught unawares, and the prohibition 
law was placed on the statute books. We have tried to 
show that this alliance on the part of the liquor crowd 
who have no politics was desired for personal gain, while 
on the part of the so-called "straights" the retention 
of political prestige and power with the emoluments of 
office was the end to be attained, they well knowing that 
were their liquor and corporate allies eliminated they 
would be wiped off of the map, because of the stigma 
they have placed on the fair name of the state by filling 
the positions of responsibility and trust with a troop of 
political shysters and demagogues, who, purloining the 
time-honored name and banner of Democracy, have 
dragged them in the cess pools of slime and corruption 
until they would not be recognized by the spirits of Jef- 
ferson and Jackson, were it possible for them to return 
to earth. 

Let us take a retrospective view — go back but a few 
years, and see such characters as Bate and Porter in the 
chief executive's chair, who reflected honor and credit 
on the then fair name of the state, nor caused a blush of 
shame to mantle the cheeks of her yeomanry. 

Descending the ladder and advancing a few years for- 
ward, we find John I. Cox and M. R. Patterson occupy- 
ing those exalted positions and dragging the fair name 
of the old Volunteer State in the very slush of political 
corruption. 

A few years back, we find such men as George B. 
Guild and James M. Head occupying the mayor's chair 
of the city of Nashville, men who gave grace and prestige 
to the position and invited praise and admiration of sis- 
ter cities. 

Today we are under the domination of Hilary E. 
Howse, who is possessed of powers of which no mayor 



;ji32 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

before could ever boast. Since he can nullify state laws, 
ignore decisions of the Supreme Court, make, modify, 
and amend or repeal any laws, not excepting the Ten 
Commandments, or provisions of the constitution. That 
he hasn't repealed the fifteenth amendment to the United 
States Constitution, is probably due to the fact that a 
splendid type of "straight" Democrats can be produced 
from a tree of erstwhile contrabands, and are a valuable 
asset for so-called straight Democracy. In fact, we 
know of no failures he has made, except to cleanse the 
dirt from the honor of Nashville's escutcheon, which has 
accumulated during his encumbency. 

The devil evidently felt himself indebted to Nash- 
ville, and decided to pay it off in a mayor, criminal judge 
and attorney-general, giving us an attorney-general who 
had proved a failure as a kidnapper. 

Being so well represented here, his majesty doesn't 
deem it necessary to come here in person, and God knows 
that it would be a waste of time for Him to come, espe- 
cially on election days. 

Thus the once proud Volunteer State and far famed 
''Athens of the South" has been lowered from the high- 
est pinnacle of fame to a position provoking contempt 
from those who once delighted to honor them, and this 
the fruit of the tree falsely called Democracy. 

Now, how has this effected Tennessee? This terrible 
octopus that has so completely enveloped the one-time 
honored Democracy in the folds of its slimy tentacles, and 
awed it into abject submission to its every mandate. 

It is deplorably true that by the power of purchased 
suffrage and the dissemination of dirty dollars, they have 
caused every emotion of patriotism to flee the breast of 
many of her yeomanry, and hide itself 'neath the cloak 
of commercialism, and have become so strongly intrenched 



AND Pool of Blood 233 

behind walls of Democracy that the citadel resists every 
effort to dislodge them. 

They have flaunted the flag of defiance in the face of 
decency and morality, until men have actually lost sight 
of the fundamental principles of justice and right, and 
come to esteem injustice and wrong as cardinal virtues. 

They have planted the seeds of intimidation in the 
ranks of the so-called "straights," until they are afraid 
to entertain an opinion, much less give expression to it, 
unless in perfect accord with the arbitrary will of those 
custodians of the ^loaves and fishes" whom they well 
know, if thwarted in one party, will turn to the other. 
As a result of this cringing subservience of the so-called 
"straights" — to their arrogant bosses, we have the crimi- 
nal executive offices filled with men whose conception 
of duty and justice are measured by their chance of re- 
tention in power, posing as "the powers that be." Not 
ordained by God, but by the liquor octopus and causing 
no terror to the "evil doers" that infest the high dives 
found prominently located on the principal thoroughfares. 

And this mighty power not only directs the distribu- 
tion of justice from the archives of its temple, but 
stretches its powerful arms around the devotees of the 
religion of Christ and demands that they, too, "shall bow 
the knee to Baal." 

They have made it so that in the cities a man of well 
known high moral character has about the same chance 
of being elevated to any of the important criminal exec- 
utive offices as he would have to dam Niagara Falls with 
a bundle of straw. It is not only wise but necessary for 
a man who aspires to any of these positions to prove 
that he has always been a convenient emissary of the 
devil, at all times ready to respond to his every call. That 
he does not attempt, and has never attempted, to thwart 



234 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

him in any of his designs for the building up of his king- 
dom, or the establishment of branches in his community, 
and that he has given all the aid in his power to the con- 
duct of his business so as to render the personal presence 
of his majesty unnecessary and that to the best of his 
knowledge and belief, he hasn't been here in the past 
ten years. Then the election of that man is a foregone 
conclusion unless it happens that a worse man should 
enter the field. 

Oh, shade of the immortal Clay ! Who said, "I would 
rather be right than be president." Men have so degen- 
erated that they would rather be dog pelter than to be 
right, if the dog came with a dollar on his back. Oh, 
Tennessee, where is thy ancestral pride! Has't forgot- 
ten that thy state was once the home of a Sevier, a 
Crocket, a Robertson, a Jackson, a Polk, a Bate, a For- 
rest, a Sam Davis, a Carmack, with scores of nameless 
heroes and statesmen who graced your diadem with 
deeds of patriotic devotion to the immortal principles of 
justice and right, that you ruthlessly and unblushingly 
hide the honor of your once proud escutcheon with dust 
brushed from the silk stockings of purse-proud liquor 
bosses and diamond-studded gamblers, whom, as vam- 
pires, fan their victims to sleep while they suck the life 
blood from their veins? They, with arts known only to 
them, entice their victim into their dirty dens, there to 
be robbed of his last farthing. 



AND Pool of Blood 235 



LAWBREAKERS ALLOWED UNDER THE EX- 
ISTING LAW TO CHOOSE LAWMAKERS, 
AND TO HOLD THE BALANCE OF 
POWER AND ELECT THE CRIMI- 
NAL EXECUTIVE OFFICERS. 

In all the annals of criminal jurisprudence, there is no 
record comparable to that of Nashville. There are places 
where high-grade murderers can be made to suffer the 
just penalties of the law. Not so in Nashville; law is 
only brought into requisition there when the court deems 
it expedient — or a political necessity — otherwise, laws 
are forgotten, nullified, or set aside for future use, to be 
employed against negro chicken thieves and crap- 
shooters. 

What is spoken of in Nashville as a criminal court, with 
jail attached, is a sort of safe refuge with council cham- 
bers, parlors and apartments, with all the modern appur- 
tenances of a high-grade club-house for the accommoda- 
tion and comfort of noted and "respectable murderers 
and assassins" who, from unavoidable causes, happened 
to be detained there until a late hour, not wishing to be 
annoyed, as might happen, if they appeared on the streets 
too early. 

This much by way of introduction. 

By ''lawbreakers" I mean professional lawbreakers ; 
those who break law for a living instead of breaking 
iTick for the county, as they should and would do if 



236 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

Nashville filled her criminal executive offices with men 
instead of puppets. 

Let us inquire and see if we can find out why this is 
so. And, in the first place, consider the lawmaking 
power, the state legislature. In one of his sermons here 
the late ever to be lamented Sam P. Jones, having de- 
scribed a hypocritical character as absolutely worthless, 
in a manner characteristic of this great preacher, paused, 
and, as though he had forgotten something remarked that 
such a man would do for the legislature of Tennessee. 

Now, to appropriate a term often applied to the press, 
we usually have a subsidized legislature in Tennessee, 
as much under the domination and control of the cor- 
porations as is the newspaper. The corporations mainly 
referred to are the railroads, or, perhaps more properly 
speaking, the ''railroad," which practically controls the 
whole system, which includes the Cumberland Telephone 
& Telegraph Company, the whisky trust and breweries, 
the last named two controlling and directing the suffrage 
of every professional lawbreaker in the state, more par- 
ticularly in the cities, and most particularly in Nashville. 
These corporations, in a great measure, possess interests 
in common. 

In the first place, it is to the interest of all to see that 
a majority of these lawmakers are pliable, possessed of 
an ''adjustable" conscience, or no conscience at all, that 
they may be used in any manner that these organizations 
may deem essential to their well-being. It would be 
superfluous and silly to present arguments to convince an 
intelligent and disinterested pubHc that these corpora- 
tions, with their powerful levers, could not tip the scales 
holding the balance of power whichever way their most 
vital interests might demand. But the results of pre- 
vious elections have demonstrated that it would be the 



AND Pool of Blood 237 

crowning achievement of their existence to do so with 
the lawbreakers opposing them, who invariably stand in 
solid phalanx and vote as one man. Hence, as stated in 
the caption, they really hold the balance of power, and 
choose the men to make the laws, their interests being 
identical with the powerful corporations, who, like an 
octopus, closes his tentacles around everything desired 
and in reach. They also embrace in their "loving" arms 
many erstwhile prominent men and "would-be" good 
citizens only for the interests engendered by virtue of 
being stockholders. 

We have said that the law permits this, and no "speck" 
of hope is yet visible on the horizon of Tennessee that 
suggests the possibility of relief from these intolerable 
conditions, except the very faint hope of the country dis- 
tricts giving us a majority of unsubsidizable legislators — 
men who possess an enlightened conscience in their 
anatomy and enough backbone to stand erect in their in- 
tegrity, despite the bellowing of the golden calf that is 
stalled before them. That such a legislature is the only 
hope of conquering the vicious oligarchy that now domi- 
nates the state's politics is truth that admits of no denial. 
The felons in the state prison, though convicted but 
one time, are not allowed a voice in the management of 
affairs of government, while under our law a man may 
be convicted of crime seven days in the week and vote at 
every election to determine who shall make the laws to 
fix the penalty for his crimes. 

I imagine there would be an awful disturbance if a law 
was made giving the right to any organization to dictate 
all the laws in relation to their interest, yet the law vir- 
tually gives that right to every lawbreaker who is lucky 
enough to escape the free board and fancy suit furnished 
by the state. 



238 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

And to their shame be it said that men who would be 
insulted at an insinuation that they were aught but good 
citizens, walk right up with "American pride" and de- 
posit their ballot in support of the same men and meas- 
ures that the lawbreakers do, and then complain about 
things going wrong. 

Men of Tennessee, arouse to a proper realization of 
your responsibility to God and your fellowman ; place 
self-interest behind you; study the intent of your suf- 
frage, which is a gift in trust, which you have no right 
to use as a personal asset, but only as you honestly be- 
lieve will bring the greatest good to the greatest num- 
ber; walk up to the polls and cast your ballot for men to 
make laws whose convictions of equity and justice tell 
them that the law of suffrage is wrong and must be 
amended ; that no man shall directly or indirectly have a 
voice in the making of laws who refuses to obey them! 

Were a penalty of two years' disfranchisement added to 
the existing penalty for every confirmed lawbreaker, for 
each subsequent conviction, how long would they hold 
the balance of power, laugh in the face of decency, bid 
defiance to statute law and clothe the courts with gar- 
ments of contempt ? 

Don't they elect the officers, whose duty it is to enforce 
these laws, in the cities, which just now are running the 
state? If you doubt it, go to the city hall in Nashville 
and you will find a lav/breaker by his own confession 
occupying the mayor's chair; go to the criminal court in 
the same city, and you will find a judge on the bench who 
says he always picks "good men" for his grand juries, 
yet in five successive trials has not been able to secure 
one juror who would indict whisky men on positive evi- 
dence, though their violations are openly enacted, with- 
out an attempt at secrecy, and at least one of bis fore- 



AND Pool of Blood '4''6\) 

men was a regular daily patron of a lawless saloon. Cast 
your eye in front of the bench, and see an attorney-gen- 
eral who could find no evidence and nobody to prosecute 
for the second time a convicted felon. "He was perfectly 
helpless;" couldn't even find anything to justify going 
into a trial at all, notwithstanding that evidence could 
have been shaken off trees all over town, and prosecutors 
could have been found by the dozens by a blind man 
who wanted to find them. As a matter of fact, a lawyer 
competent to supply everything lacking came all the wa) 
from Memphis to offer his services and was turned back 
by false information obtained from the criminal court 
clerk's office to the effect that the trial had been put off, 
which was true. It was put off of the docket by being 
clandestinely nolled at a farce trial, and Robin Cooper 
was free to murder some one else, if he chose, without 
fear of punishment as long as the organization of that 
court was not interfered with. And it is not likely to be 
unless we can get a legislature that will abolish it, or give 
us a court of commission with impeachment powers. 

Now, I shall not insult the patriotic voters of Ten- 
nessee with as much as an insinuation that they elected 
such a gang of degenerates to these positions of honor 
and trust. 

As to the sheriff of Davidson County, he has had us 
guessing for some time, but it is true that within the last 
year he was charged in the Nashville Banner by a citizen 
who signed his ovn^u name, vvith ''aiding and abetting" 
the violation of law right in his presence and failed to 
interfere, and the sheriff is no coward. 



24:0 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 



THE LAWYER AS A PROMOTER OF CRIME. 

At the outset, in the discussion of this subject, I grant 
the honorable exceptions. Be they few or many, it is not 
my province to say. 

That lawyers are largely responsible for the prevalence 
of crime — which is on the increase — is not a debatable 
question. Neither is there a doubt that the very lawyers 
who are most guilty will be the loudest in their denial of 
this statement, and all such I gladly compliment by call- 
ing them knaves instead of fools. 

A lawyer, when called upon to defend a person charged 
with crime, is supposed to learn the facts in the case 
from the accused before engaging in his defense, and to 
have a pretty accurate knowledge of his guilt or 
innocence. 

Now, as they express it, let us consider a hypothetical 
case: The lawyer has interviewed the accused and is 
satisfied that he is guilty, and that justice would demand 
that he be hung. Yet, for a stipulated price, he agrees 
to defend him. He does defend him, and, being a very 
able attorney, he succeeds in obtaining an acquittal, and 
the man is turned loose to commit other depredations. 
He has not been convicted in court and not been con- 
victed in conscience, but has been convinced that it is 
perfectly safe for him to kill somebody else if so inclined, 
for he has learned how to avoid the possible consequences 
which had previously served as a deterrent ; and not only 
this man, but all others murderouslv inclined, have been 



AND Pool of Blood 241 

given the incentive to kill with little fear of punishment, 
which, so far, had acted as a preventive. 

Now, this lawyer had far better have turned a man- 
eating tiger loose on the community, for somebody would 
kill the tiger and obviate the danger. I assert that this 
lawyer is no better citizen than the man he got acquitted, 
and, using legal phraseology, he is particeps criminis to 
every crime that is induced, or grows, out of the influence 
of that verdict. 

How did he do it? I don't know. There are many 
ways in which he may have done it. There is no language 
either oral or written but that admits of more than one 
construction, and it may be that by superior ability and 
tact, he construed the law and evidence in the interest of 
his client to the extent that an honest jury believed that 
an acquittal was right. But then I hear it said that a 
lawyer is sworn to do the best he can for his client. 
True, but he is not sworn to take a case when he be- 
lieves the accused to be guilty, or to continue in the case 
when ;the evidence has shown that he is guilty. 

Again, he may have done it by bribing a corrupt judge 
and attorney-general, thus weakening the prosecution; 
he may have done it by introducing false testimony, or 
bribing juries. It is immaterial how he did it, but the 
fact remains that he turned loose on the community a 
man that was dangerous to the people if at large, and I 
repeat that the lawyers who did it made themselves 
parties to the crime, including all subsequent crimes 
traceable to that act. 

If one case of that kind was all it would be compara- 
tively a small matter, but it has come to be common that 
men who have money, or means of getting it, have no 
fear to hinder them from committing crime. They have 
nothing but contempt for the courts, for they know that 

16 



M2 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

with money they can procure the best legal talent, who, 
by the many ways known to them, can get them out of 
the trouble unscathed. One of the smartest plans is to 
delay and postpone trials, using the interval to corrupt 
the court or witnesses, or to get witnesses out of the way, 
and sometimes to circulate false statements as to the 
date of the trial, that they may be able to secretly dis- 
pose of the case before an honest prosecutor can find out 
anything about it. 

These things have become so common that the best 
citizens often feel impelled, or compelled, to take the 
law in their own hands and inflict summary punishment 
for outrageous crimes as a matter of self-defense, justly 
feeling that they cannot rely on the courts to mete out 
justice to the guilty. This is lynch law, and is directly 
and justly chargeable to lawyers who lend their talents 
to obstruct the course of justice. 

On one occasion, in conversation with a friend who 
was a lawyer, and claimed consistency in his profession 
of religion, I asked him how he reconciled his religious 
profession with the defense of a criminal, believing him 
to be guilty? He answered me in this way: "When he 
applies to, me to defend him, I tell him that I must know 
the whole truth about the case. When I get it and it 
shows him to be guilty, I say to him, 'Well, I expect that 
they will send you up, but I'll see that it is done accord- 
ing to law.' " Now, that was a man whom I honestly 
believe was pained to do wrong, but he had allowed his 
mind to run in the devil's channel until he had actually 
come to believe that he was justified in that course of 
procedure, which was obviously a very lame defense. 

Ambiguous phraseology in the wording of the law is 
always taken advantage of by the shrewd lawyer, espe- 
cially in such cases as those referred to. The law gives 



AND Pool of Blood M3 

the defendant the benefit of the doubt in the letter, but 
is not expHcit in the spirit, and it does not require a very 
sharp lawyer to confuse a witness or place a construction 
on some phase of the evidence that will create a doubt 
in the minds of some of the jury. He is, therefore, 
enabled to acquit his man with very little trouble. It is 
always easier to defend than to prosecute, for the bur- 
den of proof is on the prosecution and does not shift. 
Also, the best remuneration is from the defense, for a 
man will give more lo save his own neck than he will 
to break somebody else's. 

Shrewd lawyers know these things, and, in conse- 
quence, the shrewdest of them are always invariably found 
on that side, engaged in the business of promoting crime, 
together with contempt for law, which is powerless to 
prevent crime when not executed. 

The following incident was told me by a friend. I 
give it in his words: 

"I knew a lawyer who was induced by his father, who 
was on his death bed, to take an oath that he would 
never prosecute a criminal. He was one of the brightest, 
if not the brightest, intellects of which his state could 
boast, standing on the top rung of the ladder of his 
profession, and in perpetual retainer for the defense of 
any criminal who could raise the price. 

"On one occasion a man walked up behind another in 
a dense crov/d, placed a pistol to the back of his head 
and fired. The victim fell dead, not knowing who killed 
him. The evidence bore out these facts, and I knew they 
were true, because I saw the smoke from the pistol. This 
man never suffered any penalty, only to remain in jail 
until bond was made. 

"Every o'^her murder case which this lawyer defended 
— and he defended all that could pay for his services — 



244 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

resulted in the same way. Now, has anyone the temerity 
to say that lawyer was not promoting crime, and even a 
party to it, for criminals knew that he could clear them 
and would do it if they paid the price?" 

Fear of punishment, where it exists, is the most potent 
preventer of crime, but the law is no longer a terror to 
evil-doers, because the lawyers have defeated the ends 
of justice so often that the best people have lost respect 
for it, knowing that the man who depends on it for pro- 
tection will get very little, hence they take the law in their 
own hands and thus become lawbreakers themselves, 
which is justly chargeable to all lawyers who use their 
talents in defense of criminals whom they know deserve 
to be punished, and thus jeopardize the lives of good peo- 
ple to obtain filthy lucre or political preferment. 

Again, we find lawyers representing collection agencies, 
which are well known as emissaries of the devil, resort- 
ing to all sorts of unlawful methods to rob their unfor- 
tunate victims, largely by collecting usurious interest, 
falsely called fees. There the lawyer's duty is to advise 
them how to concoct systems that will evade the law 
while robbing the unfortunate. In these cases they both 
aid, abet and encourage the violation of law and promul- 
gation of robbery. 

Next we find the lawyer behind closed doors in con- 
sultation with political demagogues, concocting schemes 
to fill public positions with perjurers, embezzlers, graft- 
ers and murderers, if need be, just so they agree to stand 
with the gang and use their official influence and prestige 
in obedience to their orders. 

I can perhaps more forcibly illustrate this by an inci- 
dent occurring in my own experience while sheriflF of 
Davidson County. I had declared on the stump, as the 
public is aware, that if elected I would put the notorious 



AND Pool of Blood 



245 



Jim Williams out of business, or put him on the rock 
pile I had arrested him repeatedly and produced abun- 
dance of evidence of his guilt, but had failed to get a 
conviction, and had finally notified the judge that if he 
was not convicted on such indisputable evidence I would 
resign my office and tell the people why. 

Williams had defending him the Hon. J. H. Zarecor— 
who, by the way, is a prominent church member and 
president of the board directing the business of the Cum- 
berland Presbyterian Publishing House— who kept him 
advised at all times what course to pursue to avoid the 
just penalty of the law. Just how it was done, I can 
only surmise, but that it was corruptly done there is not 
a shadow of doubt. How the court was mampulated in 
their interest is also among the secrets, only to be re- 
vealed in the last days. 

There is one circumstance, however, that will throw 
some light on the matter. At one of the trials I had as 
a witness a man with a peg leg, whose affidavit I had 
obtained because his presence could not be procured at 
the trial. By some means they had found that out, and 
hunted up a peg leg man and put him on the stand, who 
swore that he was the man, giving the same name, and 
denying having given the affidavit, which, on investiga- 
tion proved to be true-he didn't make the affidavit. 
The peg was on the wrong leg. Zarecor was mistaken 

(?) in. the man. . • ^ Axr 

Now, was Mr. Zarecor a promoter of crime? Was 
he ignorant of what the whole community knew, that 
Jim Williams was the most notorious violator of law in 
the city, grown rich by robbing husbands of women and 
fathers of children, many of whom were forced to go 
hungry and half-clad in consequence? Did he not know 
that he was aiding and abetting a flagrant outlaw in de- 



246 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

f eating the ends of justice? I am willing to extend him 
the courtesy of believing him a knave rather than a fool, 
and, as the old saying is, "birds of a feather will flock 
together," I'll leave him in the boat with Jim Williams. 
But it is a pity that the church must carry such a bur- 
den, but not a wonder that it has lost its power. 

In discussing this question we must necessarily consider 
occurrences in Nashville largely. Many scores of out- 
rageous murders have in the past fifty years been re- 
ported in the papers as having occurred in Davidson 
County. Most of them have been brought to trial, many 
with positive evidence of guilt. But how many have been 
convicted and sentenced to punishment commensurate 
with the crime? And how many have been sentenced to 
hang by the verdict of a jury? 

Reader, if you can name one white man who has 
received that sentence in the Davidson County criminal 
Court in that time, it will be news to me. Many lawyers 
are responsible for this, and it would be silly to say that 
they did not believe a large number of them guilty. It 
would also be charging them with being a pack of fools 
to say they did not know that this was giving license and 
encouragement to the commission of other crimes for 
which they should and would be held responsible by the 
verdict of an outraged public. 

I read a story in which a man, approaching another, 
was asked the character of his business. His answ*er was 
that he was a crook, explaining further that he was a 
lawyer engaged for fat fees to aid criminals to escape 
the penalty of the law. 

We have here in Tennessee a "distinguished" ex-gov- 
ernor, who is also a distinguished lawyer, Malcolm R. 
Patterson, who is most distinguished as a promoter of 
crime. Many are of the opinion that he promoted the 



AND Pool of Blood ^47 

murder of his political rival. Be that as it may, he cer- 
tainly promoted one of his murderer-friends from a con- 
victed felon to a free citizen and prominent counsellor 
in the "grand old Democratic party/' where he stands 
erect, privileged to murder another man, or as many as 
he might think a political necessity demanded. Also this 
degenerate son of a worthy sire used the pardoning 
power as a political asset, to the extent of flooding the 
country with pardoned criminals of all classes, many of 
whom renewed their former occupations as murderers, 
and human life is paying the forfeit. 

That Patterson is responsible for a large per cent, of 
the crimes being committed over the state, as well as his 
own, cannot be successfully denied. 

We have also the Hon. A. B, Neil, another lawyer, 
and the appointee of the distinguished ex-governor, who, 
although appointing the "best men" on his grand juries, 
has not been able in five attempts to secure one who, in 
the face of indisputable evidence, could find indictments 
against men who daily and openly violate law, without 
even a thought of secrecy. Nor could he and his re- 
doubtable attorney-general, A. B. Anderson — another 
lawyer — find any evidence to necessitate a second trial of 
a convicted murderer, found guilty by the verdict of 
twelve carefully selected jurors. (Neil says jurors who 
hear the evidence are as competent, or more so, than a 
supreme court that only reads it, to render a just 
decision.) 

No, they were perfectly "helpless," according to the 
attorney-general, though you could not walk six blocks 
in Nashville without running into evidence of the Car- 
mack murder. These two, in co-operation with the other 
nefarious lawyers connected with the defense, aided by 
false information circulated from the criminal court 



248 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

clerk's office, succeeded in secretly and quickly wiping 
the case from the docket — Robin Cooper was free. And 
an unprejudiced public was of the opinion that were 
exact justice meted out, that judge, attorney-general and 
their colleagues in crime would get the twenty years of 
which they relieved Robin Cooper, instead of occupying 
high positions of public trust, as some of them do. 

Then we find another "distinguished" ex-governor, so 
denominated by his opponent, who, in his first race for 
governor had produced evidence proving him an embez- 
zler, which has never been retracted or disproven. This 
is John I. Cox, who wears the blue ribbon as a political 
schemer and trickster — more of the latter than of the 
former — seated in the state senate, using every eflfort 
known to the would-be political demagogue to secure the 
repeal of the only fair election law the state ever had, by 
the substitution of another that would enable him and his 
beloved predecessor to fraudulently obtain any place they 
might covet. 

Certainly the blush of shame should mantle the brow 
of every patriotic Tennessean to see such men occupy- 
ing her governor's chair, her senate chamber, her judges' 
seats. Men of Tennessee, arouse from your slumbers, 
awake from your lethargy and by the power of your bal- 
lot, and in the language of your illustrious prototype, 
swear by the "eternal" your country shall be free. 

Again, the lawyer, like other citizens, when he casts 
his vote for a man whom he knows will not enforce the 
law, when it is his duty to do so, also promotes crime. 
It would be interesting to know how many and what 
lawyers voted for the present mayor of Nashville, not- 
withstanding his public declaration that he would not 
enforce a law which he had in his first campaign ad- 
mitted it was his duty to do. 



AND Pool of Blood 349 

The judge, who in five attempts could not pick a grand 
jury from the ''best citizens" who would indict whisky 
men, said that ninety per cent, of the lawyers who prac- 
tice in his court were for him. It would be interesting 
to know also how many and who they are, for they are 
in the same boat, and, not being fools, they know that 
he only enforces law against such as are without money 
or political influence. 

And now, reader, with your permission, I'll tell you 
some dreams and ask you if they are not correct. I 
dreamed that, some years ago, several lawyers were de- 
fending a noted criminal charged with murder. After 
hearing the evidence produced by the prosecution, they 
were convinced that Ben Dowell was murdered, and that 
they had no evidence that would acquit his slayer. They 
saw that something must be done which wouldn't do for 
them to do. It wouldn't do to ''show their hand" in a 
"bluff game," so they must use a "cold deck;" accord- 
ingly procuring another lawyer who was not to appear 
in the case, had him to summon a witness, drill him, 
"coach" him and present him to the illustrious attorneys, 
he swearing to order and automatically, but the cat 
jumped out of the bag and Tom Cox was convicted. 

I had another dream. I seemed to see an eminent law- 
yer who was very anxious to get a bill through the legis- 
lature, but there was a sturdy representative who saw 
"a 'nigger' in the woodpile" and was an effectual hin- 
drance to its passage. This man must be handled some 
way or the bill would fail to pass. This crafty lawyer 
knew that he dared not offer him a bribe, therefore, re- 
sorted to the hidden hand process, knowing that every 
man has a hobby of some sort. He went to work to 
find out what this man's hobby was, and found that he 
had invented a churn, but had no funds to put it on the 



250 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

market. There was his chance. He ingratiated himself 
into favor with the man, and proposed to take half inter- 
est and furnish the necessary funds. He put up a for- 
feit of $500.00 until such time as he could give it his 
attention. In the meantime the bill came up and was 
passed, the man offering no opposition. He did not like 
to oppose his partner, but he got the forfeit money, find- 
ing that he was *'sold" when it was too late. Of course, 
the lawyer lost his money. Then I saw in a vision the 
name of Thomas O'Connor. 

I had another dream in which I seemed to s^e the hand 
of a great lawyer who lived in a marble palace. 
"Where the chandelier's light 
Drove off with its splendor, the darkness of night, 
And the soft hanging velvet in shadowy fold, 
Swept gracefully down with trimmings of gold 
And mirrors of silver took up to renew 
In long lighted vistas the 'wildering view." 
I seemed to see a banquet where the judges of the 
Supreme Court were the guests of honor; where they 
were wined and dined on one occasion, and dined and 
wined on another; where "all went merry as a marriage 
bell," only much oftener. I looked again and saw a case 
sent up to the Supreme Court in which one of our great 
corporations was vitally interested on one side and the 
people on the other. I seemed to see these judges halt 
and consider, and thought I heard them say : "Why, our 
friend of the marble palace represents this case. We 
can't decide against him! Selah!" and in my vision I 
could see W. L. Cranberry. 

"Now, look at the judge, with his dark flowing gown. 
With the scales wherein law weigheth equity down. 
Where he frowns on the weak and smiles on the strong. 



AND Pool of Blood 251 

And punishes right while he justifies wrong, 
Where jurors their lips to the Bible have laid, 
To hand in a verdict the judge has just made; 
Ah ! go to the courtroom and find, if you can, 
Any law that will baffle a corporate clan/' 



252 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 



SOME PREACHERS A DETRIMENT TO GOOD 
GOVERNMENT. 

I wish to be understood that in the discussion of this 
subject it is foreign to my purpose to cast any reflection 
on that noble band of God-fearing men who are His 
true and loyal servants, fearlessly treading each path 
where duty points To all such I gladly raise my hat 
and accord the meed of praise justly due those who are 
the "salt of the earth/' 

It is with those who seem possessed with an erroneous 
idea of their calling that I wish to deal ; those who, may- 
hap, were never called at all, but answered when another 
was called. 

I once heard a story that clearly illustrates my position. 
A preacher had gone to a new charge. One of the older 
members took him aside, telling him that, being a stran- 
ger he thought he might appreciate a few pointers, and 
began telling him that he had better not say anything 
about liquor, that a large number of the members were 
engaged in the business who paid liberally toward the 
support of the church; and not to say anything about 
gambling, as numbers of the members engaged in that 
pursuit, and they also paid liberally ; and not to speak of 
dancing, as all of the young members indulged in that 
amusement, and if they were ofifended their parents 
would be, and the church would be broke up. 

Well, he continued along that line until he had enum- 
erated about all the sins in the calendar, and warned the 



AND Pool of Blood ^53 

preacher against speaking of them, when the minister 
said to him : 

"Well, my brother, what is a man to preach about m 
your town?" And he was told that he could just give the 
Mormons fits, as they didn't have a friend in that place. 

Now, my complaint is with the preacher who spends 
his time hammering the Mormons, but fears to raise 
his voice in condemnation of the most glaring sins, be- 
cause, forsooth, the rich and influential elements in his 
church is guilty of participation in divers forms of law- 
lessness and crime through the week, but occupy the 
uppermost seats in the synagogues on Sunday. But they 
pay, and, therefore, must be toadied to. Having eyes, 
he cannot see; and, having ears, he cannot hear of the 
crimes of which they are guilty, and which it is his duty 
to denounce in unmistakable terms. 

Living in a very quiet section of the city and usually 
remaining there of a Sunday, I know very little, per- 
sonally, of what is going on in town, but I have mtel- 
ligent and reliable sources of information on which to 

rely. 

It requires no argument to convince the ordmary mmd 
that all forms of lawlessness should be suppressed where- 
ever they exist, and to the extent that circumstances will 
allow. It would, therefore, be pertinent to ask whose 
business it is to suppress them. If the government is of, 
for and by the people, it would seem to be the duty of all 
good citizens. Surely ministers are not exempt, since 
Christ drove the money changers from the temple. 

It is an open secret that many prominent church mem- 
bers derive large incomes from renting property for the 
use of saloons, gambling houses and other immoral pur- 
poses. They know that their property is but a den of 
iniquity and that God's law stands opposed to all that is 



254 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

evil, and the minister that fails to use his influence and 
prestige against such things is not only recreant to his 
trust, but is, by his example, a stumbling-block to the 
maintenance of good government, as well as jeopardizing 
his own soul by failing to sound the warning. 

Do these ministers condemn parlor gambling for sil- 
verware and loving cups, the influence of which is more 
corrupting than crap-shooting in back alleys, because the 
thing corrupted is of more value ? Have they raised their 
voices against clubhouse tippling, which is but the step- 
ping-stone to the low dives? Have they suppressed any 
of these evils among their members which everybody 
knows exists there? Have they put forth a persistent 
effort to do so? Failing, have they used the lash of small 
cords to drive them from the temple? Can they plead 
ignorance of that which is the talk of the town ? 

Why, a well informed gentleman said to me : 

"If you take from the church the support derived from 
the immoral and gambling element, it would be scarcely 
able to stand." Honestly, who can gainsay it? Would 
it not be laying the ax at the root of the tree to begin 
there? It would doubtless cripple the church financially 
to enforce this rule, but would it not be better to destroy 
it than have it stand on a foundation of gambling hells 
and whisky tubs, shorn of its power for good? But the 
preachers' salary would have to be decreased and there 
comes the trouble. 

Some preachers are often seen at banquets and other 
entertainments in high life, where intoxicants are dis- 
pensed in frequent courses, v/ithout offering a single 
rebuke or even admonition in the face of the injunction to 
"abstain from every appearance of evil and associate 
with the votaries of folly onlv to reform them." 

These preachers are supposed to give moral tone to 



AND Pool of Blood ^55 

society and bring the world to Christ. Can this course 
of conduct accomplish that end? Nay, verily it can only 
be a stumbling-block in the way of those who would 
promote good government, law, order and morality. 

After all, it is only history repeating itself, for instances 
are rare, though some exist, where ministers have been 
possessed of the moral courage and backbone required to 
antagonize the rich and influential element in their 
churches, hence wickedness in high places must increase 
and go unrebuked, while the weaker, more insignificant 
and less dangerous element must be the scapegoat to carry 
the sins of the world until that day when the Lord shall 
separate the wheat and burn up the chaff with unquench- 
able fire. Verily, "the love of money is the root of ^11 

evil." 

Just imagine the lamented Sam Jones or Dwight L. 
Moody in such places without uttering a protest, or cring- 
ing and toadying to a wealthy congregation for filthy 
lucre. Why, Mr. Moody refused a one thousand dollar 
offer to sit for a picture under conditions that failed to 
meet the approval of his conscience. 

Now, a time-serving preacher may have charge of a 
big church and be possessed of the highest order of intel- 
lect, receive a princely salary and perquisites of cor- 
responding value, but as long as he is a mere toady to 
wealth and position, the power of his influence to pilot 
men to heaven, or elevate their character as citizens, is 
paralyzed, and he is but a detriment to the uplifting of 
society to a higher plane, or perpetuating the principles 
of good moral government. 

How many preachers are there who can boast of a con- 
o-regation free from lawbreakers, especially in the big 
churches? How many bankers or others are there in 
their flocks who are earning money by usurious interest 



256 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

in direct and uninterrupted violation of law ? How many 
who are directly or indirectly getting revenue from the 
liquor traffic, which is openly conducted in violation of 
law? How many have you who cast their ballots on the 
immoral side of every question exactly the same as every 
lawbreaker and thug in the city? If you have such and 
have not sounded the warning, God says their blood shall 
be required of you. 

But it is said preachers should preach the gospel and 
keep out of politics. But God says preach the truth ; be 
instant in season and out of season ; denounce sin where- 
ever it is found. And if there's a spot on God's earth 
where it grows more luxuriantly or yields a bigger crop 
of crime than in Nashville and Tennessee politics history 
fails to record it. 

The whisky men and gamblers are especially worried 
lest the preachers go wrong, and, in fact, all others who 
oppose them. They would doubtless be glad if they were 
allowed to make all the laws touching the whisky busi- 
ness and the gamblers would be equally as glad of the 
same privilege concerning themselves. Thieves would 
be glad to make all laws pertaining to larceny and mur- 
derers to make all laws concerning felony. But what do 
they know about the gospel? Let us illustrate: 

During the Civil War Elder Wilkes, of the Christian 
Church, was preaching in Missouri. It seems there was a 
military law requiring a man to have a license to preach 
the gospel. Elder Wilkes was not aware of the existence 
of such a law, perhaps. Anyway, he was preaching with- 
out license. When it became known he was cited to ap- 
pear before a military court for trial, which he did with- 
out witnesses or counsel, the court having a numerous 
train of witnesses. The first being called testified that 
he had heard Elder Wilkes preach the gospel, and was 



AND Pool of Blood 267 

turned over for cross-examination, when he was asked: 
"What is the gospel?" Not being able to tell, he was 
told to stand aside, and thus proceeded the trial until all 
were examined. None was found who knew what the 
gospel was, and Elder Wilkes demanded and obtained 
acquittal on the grounds that witnesses who did not know 
what the gospel was didn't know whether he preached it 
or not. 

If these people knew what the gospel is they would 
know that it is the duty of a true minister to go into 
politics and preach politics as long as it was the chief 
nesting place for sin and crime. 

Certainly God is on the right side and He says that 
he that is not with Him is against Him, and he that 
gathereth not with Him scattereth abroad. So it is 
not sufficient to stand idly by, while the cohorts of crime 
stalk through the land, increasing in power, but it is 
the duty of every good citizen to use all of his ransomed 
powers to destroy it before it destroys the country, and 
the preachers who are the head of the church should 
be in the front ranks in every battle. The church seems 
to be capitalized, so to speak, to the degree that the 
love of money has taken the place of the love of God, 
and the path of duty hid by the love of the criminal 
pleasures of the world. 

There are preachers, honest of purpose, but faint of 
heart. They think their whole duty is to preach a gospel 
of peace, where their Master says He came not to bring 
peace into the world, but a sword. And why cry, "Peace, 
peace," when the chains are being forged to bind the 
church and the world in abject slavery to corporate greed 
and the whisky trust, as the vampire who fans his vic- 
tims to sleep and sucks the life blood from his veins. 
Only those are free whom Christ makes free. 

17 



258 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

Some years ago I heard a preacher tell an incident 
which is illustrative. He said some of his young 
lady members were discussing a dance to which they 
intended to go. He remarked that he believed he would 
go, too. They were of course, astounded, and said, 
**Why, Bro. Heron, you go to a dance." 

"Why not," said he, "am I any better than you? You 
say you're going." 

Of course, that put them in high dudgeon, and brought 
the response, "We're just as good as anybody." The 
preacher explained that every obligation was on them 
that he had taken, except that he had agreed to preach, 
and that anything that was right for them was right 
for him, and vice versa. 

Now let us reverse the proposition. If it is right and 
the duty of a layman who is a citizen to do a certain 
thing, it follows that it is right and the duty of a preacher 
who is also a citizen, to do that also, according to our 
governmental system. 

With the corruption existing in the political fields, 
flaunting defiance in the face of all that is good, pure 
and holy, whoever fights it, must fight it where it is 
entrenched. 

These timid preachers ofttimes lose the fight because 
of their timidity, and also lose their prestige and up- 
lifting power and become but an aid and comfort to the 
enemy, for wrong can not stand long in the path of 
right showing a soHd front. 

At one time a preacher in a neighboring state took 
charge of a congregation where almost the entire mem- 
bership was engaged in the liquor traffic. He was 
warned by a leading member that if he interfered with 
them he would ruin the church. Did he heed the warn- 
ing? Not much, but told them that they must quit the 



AND Pool of Blood ^59 

business or quit the church ; that it had better be destroyed 
than to stand on such a foundation. They quit the busi- 
ness and that church became a moral upHfter, instead 
of a detriment to good government. 



THE MODEL PREACHER 

'•AH honor to the godly man whose instincts, true and 

bold, 
Tell him, when he speaks at all the whole truth must 

be told; 
He fears not man or devil and is not prone to shirk 
The duties that are his to do — his grand and noble work ! 
He does not tire his hearers with dissertations long 
On the origin of man, or theology that's wrong. 
But leaving all the old things, he battles with the new, 
The evils that confront him with a gospel straight and 

true. 

"He doesn't temporize with crime in apologetic way, 
But tells the people plainly they must act the way they 

pray. 
He goes where duty prompts him without a word to say, 
Nor tries to clear his conscience and go some other way. 
Doesn't cater to society or fashion's stern decree, 
Points out their sins and follies so plain that all may see ; 
Be the evil in the church, in man, or in the world, 
The pure and simple truth, right straight at it is hurled. 

**He pours heaven's condemnation on Satan's wily plots ; 
Tells his liquor-voting deacon he's responsible for sots; 
To goody-goody sermons he is not at all inclined, 
While sinners in the church bv the dozen he can find; 



260 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

He says he works for God and is certain of his pay, 
E'en though his honest preaching drives half his flock 

away. 
His words, though plainly spoken, are tempered with the 

love 
That dwells in each disciple of the Master that's above." 

— Selected. 



HYPOCRISY, SECRECY, AND PERSONAL 
FRIENDSHIP DETRIMENTAL TO THE 
MAINTENANCE OF GOOD GOV- 
ERNMENT, AS ALSO THE 
PRIMARY. 

In the discussion of this subject I am well aware that 
I shall antagonize the general opinion in a large measure, 
but as I don't happen to be seeking or expecting public 
approval, I can only present the truth as I see it, accord- 
ing the right to others to differ with me if they must. 

None will scarcely dare champion the cause of hypoc- 
risy, since it merits and generally suffers condemnation 
at the hands of all men, even the hypocrites themselves, 
being, 'as it is, a powerful obstruction in the pathway 
of all truth, the mortal foe of sincerity and the twin 
brother of secrecy. 

But how does hypocrisy affect the realms of govern- 
ment? We answer, in ^very way. The hypocrite is a 
veritable wolf in sheep's clothing; the one who without 
is beautiful to behold, but within is full of "dead men's 
bones"; the man who makes use of the secret ballot to 
cover a multitude of falsehoods; the man who loudly 
professes to be what he is not; the man who pretends 



AND Pool of Blood 261 

to believe what he does not; the man wlio in public 
pledges his suffrage and influence to the cause of good 
civil government and in secret gives it in the way to 
promote all manner of crime and immorality. 

This man is a traitor to his country and his God, and 
unworthy of every trust; willing to sell his birthright 
for a mess of pottage, and to be a traveler on any road 
that ends at the fleshpots of Egypt; and, by the con- 
venient aid of the secret ballot, to betray his country 
into the hands of the Philistines. Such a man cannot 
be other than a detriment to every good thing with which 
he is brought in contact. There was no w^orse char- 
acter depicted by the Saviour of the World than that 
of the hypocrite. 

He also said that ''in secret have I said nothing." It 
is becoming a commonly accepted theory that publicity 
is the best antidote for crime, and we know that all 
treasonable plots are hatched behind closed doors. We 
know that the most corrupt political schemes are con- 
cocted behind closed doors. We know that the corrup- 
tion funds of political parties are contributed in secret. 
The man who sells his suffrage does it in secret. The 
assassin stabs his victim in the back, having secretly 
approached him. The man who poses as a saint and 
votes as a devil does it with a secret ballot. 

This phase of the subject necessarily embodies secret 
societies, some of which bind their members with an 
ironclad oath to stand by a brother in every case, mur- 
der and treason not excepted. As a matter of fact, the 
members of those societies are just ordinary individuals 
and gifted with like passion as other people, and only 
become members in the hope of obtaining personal bene- 
fits, while claiming to be votaries of charity, and, as the 
church is full of bad material, so are the secret societies. 



262 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

As hypocrites fill the pews of churches, so* do they the 
chairs of the secret societies. 

Now, one of these members conceives the idea that 
the salvation of the country depends on his election to 
the office of constable or some other important position 
of trust. He announces that fact at the first meeting 
of his lodge and claims the support of its membership 
on fraternal grounds, and the chances are that it is ac- 
corded him unanimously, without a single glance at his 
qualifications. They neither know nor care if he be pos- 
sessed of capability or integrity, which should be the sole 
and only requisites for the consideration of the voter 
who desires to promote with his ballot the principles of 
good government, but "he belongs to my lodge and I 
must vote for him anyway." 

This manner of voting is more noticeable in the Cath- 
olic societies th^n any other denomination. Take the 
Ancient Order of Hibernians, the Knights of Columbus, 
who have only to know that the candidate is a Catholic 
and they vote for him to a man, and it would be per- 
fectly safe to say that those are always on the immoral 
side of an issue. 

The right of suffrage is given to men to promote the 
principles of free government of the people, for the peo- 
ple and by the people, and a free government is neces- 
sarily good government based on an intelligent and con- 
scientious suffrage of the people, and cannot exist as 
long as men consider in its exercise aught save honor 
and capability in the man on whom they bestow it. 

The latter-day candidate is probably the most pro- 
nounced hypocrite of all when from the rostrum he an- 
nounces eternal fidelity to the principles of right and 
justice, while in secret he has given his pledge to be 
the champion and best friend of outlaws and criminals, 



AND Pool of Blood 263 

as in the case of the election of the present mayor of 
Nashville, when in 1909 he was elected to his first term. 
If the papers quoted him correctly, he promised faith- 
fully to enforce the prohibition law. Although opposed 
to the law in principle, he said he recognized it as his 
duty to enforce it. Now, it would require a very unso- 
phisticated and credulous mind to believe that he could 
have received the undivided vote of the lawless element 
had they not been in possession of secret assurances that 
these promises would not be fulfilled. 

As a further illustration of the menace of hypocritical 
secrecy to the maintenance of good civil government, let 
us for a moment glance at the attempt to fasten on the 
city what is known as the Howse Charter Bill, which 
was framed in secret council, endorsed by the city council 
with as little publicity as was possible, who failed to 
submit it to the people. While absolute secrecy was im- 
possible in this case, it was aimed at and so conducted 
as far as possible. All readers of the papers are familiar 
with the facts in this case and how the bill was rushed 
at every stage to prevent the people from having a chance 
to defeat it. How it was unanimously approved by the 
Davidson county delegation, who stood ready to do the 
bidding of Howse, no matter what he asked or how it 
might affect the public weal. They also refused to allow 
the people to vote on it, and got it through by pleading 
the old worn-out song — legislative courtesy — by votes of 
men who neither knew nor cared anything about it. 

Another serious menace to the perpetuity of good civil 
government is personal friendship. Since good govern- 
ment can only be promoted by good men, and most voters 
have both good and bad men on their list of friends, and 
since more bad men are chosen in Nashville for office 
than good ones, it follows that voters must have consid- 



264 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

ered friendship in lieu of qualification. Suffrage is given 
to men to exercise for the general good and not discharge 
obligations to personal friends. It should not be held as 
an objection to a man that he is the personal friend of 
the voter, and the voter has the right to rejoice when he 
can conscientiously give his suffrage to a friend, but he 
has no right to take it into consideration in determining 
his vote, for it is rightfully public property which no man 
has the right to use for private purposes. There isn't a 
reasonable doubt but that numbers of unworthy incum- 
bents of offices today owe their tenure to the suffrage of 
friends who knew they were unfit for the position. 
Neither do ties of consanguinity justify such use of the 
franchise, for the majority of bad men doubtless have 
some relatives. It is the province of the majority vote to 
determine the character of the government they will have, 
and if they want good government they must elect con- 
scientious and capable men to positions of public trust, 
be they friends or foes, and regardless of any other 
considerations. 

The next thing now is the primary — a most fitting cap 
for the stack ; in fact, the only thing with which we are 
acquainted broad enough in its scope to cover the ground, 
since hypocrisy, secrecy, villainy, bribery, thefts, with all 
the cardinal vices, enter into its makeup. Instituted to 
eliminate fraud and corruption, it has proven the mother 
of fraud, corruption and hypocrisy, the motive power of 
machine politics, the lever by which political demagogues 
are hoisted into power, the nesting place of chicanery 
and treachery, a temptation for men to forswear prin- 
ciple for the sake of political preferment, an automatic 
concern fully equipped with a patent appliance so ad- 
justed as to work both forward and backward and vote 
or count men in or out at the pleasure of the "chauffeur." 



AND Pool of Blood 265 

It is also a good indicator of the standing of political 
parties. Observe the complexion of the crowd who are 
promoting primaries and you may safely conclude that 
the fields have been gleaned of all their tares, and none 
remain for the other party. 

The owners and controllers of these primaries, the 
grand moguls and high cockolorums, have been educated 
in the schools of political duplicity and selected as the 
men best versed in the science of demagogery. Their 
duties are multitudinous and somewhat onerous, the first 
and most important of which is to prepare bait to catch 
suckers and induce them to enter the slaughter pen pre- 
pared for all those who dare lift a voice in opposition to 
the imperial will of King Booze, who holds the primary 
in the hollow of his hands. Next comes the making of 
the slate, which must be accomplished in the secret re- 
cesses of the temple of Judas, and where no eye can see 
or ear hear, save those in possession of the countersign 
and password and familiar with the grip. Having formu- 
lated the plan and lubricated the wheels of this powerful 
machine, the word is given "all aboard," the throttle 
thrown open and the thing starts on its villainous mis- 
sion. And, as it sometimes happens, the plan proves to 
be imperfectly constructed, it is only necessary to reverse 
the lever, run the engine back to the roundhouse, where 
the grand mogul will make the needed repairs, which may 
be done at any time they may seem wise and expedient. 
Then comes the selection of the henchmen in the differ- 
ent wards and districts, some of which are instructed to 
hold back the election returns until directed from head- 
quarters as to just what is needed of them. If the right 
sort of votes is scarce, they are ordered to send to the 
vacant houses and lots and get them. And if the oppo- 
sition to the slate have too many, they are expected to 



266 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

swallow them. By this and other methods of manipula- 
tion they claim to have perfectly fair expression of the 
will of the party, and if any participant has the temerity 
to question the absolute fairness of this primary, he is 
subjected to forty stripes from the party lash, or bull 
whip, as it is sometimes called. 

It were worse than useless to attempt to place any 
legal restraint on this mighty machine, for its promoters 
would only have to give a little "twist of the wrist," 
say "presto change!" and the way would be cleared. 

Here in Tennessee all men who are Democrats, that 
never were contrabands, are eligible to enter this primary 
as candidates who have got the price, which, for impor- 
tant offices, ranges from one to five hundred dollars, 
usually. Now, if he hasn't got it and is unable to stack 
the cards so that he can get it, he is proven incompetent, 
though he be the best man in the state and possessed of 
the integrity of Job with the wisdom of Socrates. 

But what's the use of talking as long as erstwhile good 
citizens permit political shysters to pull the wool over 
their eyes, dictate their suffrage, or bull whip them into 
line. Conditions will grow Avorse and worse and finally 
result in anarchistic revolution. 

The primary booster puts great stress on his willing- 
ness to get everything fresh from the people ; boasts that 
he is not afraid of them, and that all who oppose pri- 
maries are. Well, why should he be afraid of the people? 
We don't usually stand with dread and trembling in a 
menagerie when the beasts are all chained, the cage is 
locked and the key thrown away. 

Hypocrisy, secrecy and stick-together-ativeness are all 
that is required to constitute a perfect primary and dam 
every avenue to good civil government. . 



AND Pool of Blood 267 



THE HIGH DIVE A GREATER MENACE TO 

GOOD GOVERNMENT THAN THE 

LOW DIVE. 

I am fully aware that in the discussion of this subject 
I shall antagonize many of the so-called ''upper ten." 
But this book is not written to toady to the upper ten 
any more than the lower million. I was taught from 
early childhood to estimate people by character, without 
regard to the size of their bank accounts or the length 
of their pedigrees. 

It is by no means a pleasure to say disagreeable things, 
but duty demands that I speak the truth, which it is my 
purpose to do, indulging the hope that it may not fall 
altogether "as seed sown in stony places." I hold that 
good government cannot result from wrong conceptions, 
and that bad government can neither result from the 
suffrage of good citizens ; and that good citizens cannot 
be made of bad moral characters, and that education 
without morality as a basis is a greater menace to free 
government than ignorance based on morality. 

High dives must be classified in general terms as all 
places, whether public or private, that are outwardly 
clothed with an air of respectability, and low dives those 
that make no such pretentions, both being the nesting 
places where the seeds of all manner of temptations are 
sown and hatched. And of the two, the high dive is the 
more corrupting. 

The wolf garbed in sheep's clothing can catch his victmi 
unawares, as the saloon or gambling hell catch theirs, 



268 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

when clothed with an air of respectability. Granting the 
honorable exceptions, the court officers go there, the 
church leaders go there, and the more respected element 
generally — who indulge in the ^'social glass" — go there. 
They are never seen under the influence of liquor and 
invariably assume the manners of a gentleman. 

I am not characterizing them as the contrary, or in 
this chapter dealing with the habits of individuals except 
for the purpose of illustration, and, in classifying the 
frequenters of these places, do so to show what gives 
them the air of respectability and the increased power 
for harm. We are all more or less influenced by the 
conduct of others, and we always look up — never down 
—for examples safe to emulate: to the gentleman who 
occupies a high position in society, and not the vagabond 
wallowing in the gutter. The young man of respectable 
parentage, on whose shoulders will soon rest the respon- 
sibility for the weal or woe of his country, sees these 
respectable gentlemen enter these resorts, and he sees 
them come out perfectly sober; sees them filling the 
highest positions of honor and trust, both in church and 
state, and, though he has never in his life been in such 
a place, he concludes that he has been unnecessarily 
warned by his parents and tutors against it — that they 
cannot be such bad places after all. 

Finally, he is invited in by some friend, accepts the 
invitation, enters the door and the ruin is wrought. If 
he had been asked to enter a low dive he would have 
indignantly resented it. His innate pride would have 
been his shield and protector. 

But I see this young man a few years later staggering 
into the low dive, that no earthly power could have in- 
duced him to enter at the start, divested of all semblance 
of pride. 



AND Pool of Blood 269 

He found that he was lacking in the power of resist- 
ance which his exemplars had been a score or more of 
years in acquiring. And this insidious foe to purity and 
respectability had dragged him, as it had thousands of 
others, to the lowest depths of degradation and into the 
very jaws of hell. 

This is only a faint, but nevertheless true, picture of 
the work of the high dive. It was said by one of our 
greatest statesmen that the "saloon had sinned away its 
day of grace and must be destroyed." There is only one 
way to destroy it. The people, who are the source of all 
power, must do it; and they must do it by their suffrage 
in placing representatives in the General Assembly who 
will enact laws to that effect, with such other laws as 
will make them possible of enforcement. 

Law is properly defined as the crystallization of public 
sentiment, which must first be created. Now, reader, 
let me ask what created that sentiment which resulted 
in the enactment of the liquor laws? Was it the "re- 
spectable,^' most orderly and high-class saloon? or was 
it the disorderly dive ? Certainly the latter, and, as anom- 
alous as the assertion may seem, we actually owe a debt 
of gratitude to the low dive for creating and keeping 
alive the sentiment that will ultimately destroy the most 
vicious and abominable nuisance with which our fair 
land is accursed. 

Yet another reason in favor of the low dive is that, 
while its influence is dangerous to society, of course, it 
has but little influence and none over anything of much 
value, while those started on the downward road by the 
high dive are those who otherwise would be bright and 
shining lights in the community, an honor to their calling 
in life and the pride and joy of their best earthly friend 
— a fond mother. 



270 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

Again, this high dive is more dangerous to good gov- 
ernment because of the power of money (which the low 
dives have not), which is freely used to carry elections 
and bribe legislators and public officials, and in many 
ways build bulwarks to protect the powers of evil and 
save the criminals from the just penalty of the law. 

The high dives, being located in the best sections where 
they will be tolerated, detract from both the rental and 
selling value of all the property located near them. On 
the other hand, the low dive can exist only in low-priced 
localities, and the damage from them is nominal in that 
respect. 

It also does more harm because of greater opportunity. 
Being prominently located, it has a much heavier patron- 
age and deals out largely more destruction to both life 
and character. While the low dive may deal out its 
measure of death, it cannot touch character, because char- 
acter does not enter there. 

Shakespeare says that ''he who steals my purse steals 
trash, but he that robs me of my good name takes that 
which enricheth him not, but makes me poor indeed." 

Again, the high dive, with its powerful prestige, bids 
defiance to the minions of the law, which it tramples 
under foot with impunity, under the very nose of offi- 
cials whom it has paid to be moon-eyed, as occasion de- 
mands. This the low dive is powerless to do and must 
suffer the consequences, where, again, it necessarily as- 
sumes the nature of a benefactor, because of the fees the 
officers get, to say nothing of the practice it gives them 
in the discharge of their duty. 

And when election comes, and the issue is law, order 
and decency against immorality and crime, the high dive 
comes to the front with its hundreds of hirelings to vote 



AND Pool of Blood 271 

with "American pride" as their employers direct, while 
the low dive can only muster its tens. 

The most dangerous of all of these dives are those 
behind the screens of a grocery store, cafe or clubhouse. 

There the man who fears to enter an out-and-out den 
of vice, may find a ready excuse for being there if he 
chance to be a public official, an elder in the church, or 
a young man employed where the fashionable vices are 
not tolerated in employes. There his sins will not find 
him out for a while. But, sooner or later, he will be 
robbed of his timidity and will unblushingly enter the 
high dive on his road to final destruction in the low dive, 
which would never have found him only that the pathway 
was blazed by the high dive. 

Among this latter class there are none more pernicious 
in their influence than the club, because it is composed 
of the most respectable classes. Men affiliate in clubs 
that keep aloof from the vicious features and are total 
abstainers from all forms of intoxicants. They go there 
to enjoy the innocent social features, and often to discuss 
business affairs. Everything is fitted up in good style. 
They can enjoy privacy, if they so desire, and be gen- 
erally comfortable. These facts give popularity to the 
clubs, but all who go there are not that way. There are 
those who, with the vicious features eliminated, would 
not be there, and, while the novice is drawn in by the 
most respectable element, he is tempted and falls through 
the example of the other. 

Let our position be kept in mind that the more respec- 
tability possessed by things vicious in character the greater 
their power for harm, and that they corrupt things of 
more value than disreputable dives «an possibly do. 

But we cannot even stop here. We must go a degree 
higher to the parlor gambler and tippler who assembles 



372 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

at the invitation of the upper ten, the occupants of marble 
palaces, where wine sparkles as it flows from silver de- 
canters and cards are dealt to determine the ownership 
of punch bowls, loving cups and other articles of like 
value. Who could resist such temptations? These peo- 
ple are strictly high-class leaders in society, and, per- 
chance, leaders in the church. 

"There can be no harm in a glass of wine taken from 
the hand of a beautiful and attractive lady, or a social 
game where the prize is only used to give zest to the 
game and make it more interesting. Surely there is no 
harm in such little amusements." Thus he reasons, but 
the devilish work is done. The appetite has been cre- 
ated. It has grown until the social game for prizes or 
the mellow wine no longer satisfies, and he starts down 
the road, stopping at the club where stronger liquor is on 
tap and the rattle of bones and the jingle of silver give 
zest to the drooping spirits; next step, the high dive on 
the public thoroughfare, where he obtains a through 
ticket via the low dive into the jaws of hell at the end 
of the road. 



AND Pool of Blood 273 



THE GAMBLER— HOW DOES HE START AND 
HOW DOES HE CONTRIBUTE? 

■ ■ ^//..-*y 

As my object is to expose the crimes prevalent in our 
fair land, more especially our own state and city, and the 
causes and accessories, I would be recreant to the trust 
were I to omit this, one of the most potent causes. 

The gambler most commonly starts in the fashionable 
parlor, where the social game is indulged by both sexes. 
There, basking in the smiles of beautiful and accom- 
plished belles, the young man of talent, education and 
wealth is installed as an "entered apprentice." 

While in itself there is no real harm in a social game, 
aside from the fact that it is a very alluring sport and 
creates an appetite not easily appeased, and which soon 
demands that a small prize be staked to give zest to the 
game. This suffices for a while, but finally becomes too 
dull to interest sufficiently, and a small cash "ante" be- 
comes a veritable necessity, and so on" until it requires 
a game without a "limit" to satisfy. While in the start 
the game was only for amusement, it has become a means 
of money getting, which is a very doubtful means when 
a fair game is adhered to. The gambler soon learns that, 
to make money, he must acquire a knowledge of trickery 
and put it into practice. It is then he becomes a thief, 
and if he chance to be brought into contact with smarter 
thieves, instead of robbing some other person he gets 
robbed himself. He often becomes involved to the extent 
that, to hide his shame, he becomes an embezzler. 

The above is, in part, the actual experience of a man 

18 



274 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

who had traveled the road, but fortunately got checked 
in his mad career before becoming an embezzler. 

A gambler is, with but few exceptions, a liar. This 
man was married while still addicted to the habit, and 
kept it up quite a while thereafter, his good wife in the 
meantime using what influence she could to induce him 
to abandon the practice. She, being a preacher's daugh- 
ter, knew nothing of cards. Among other things she 
declined to use turkeys obtained by chance methods. 
Then he would lie to her. When he had won a turkey 
he would positively affirm that he had bought it. An- 
other plan she tried with him was that she proposed that, 
if he would give up gambling, she would waive her ob- 
jection to card playing at home, and even learn the game 
and play with him herself. The result was more lying, 
but, as stated, he was checked before becoming an em- 
bezzler. 

The gambler is necessarily a greater hindrance to the 
maintenance of good government than any other class, 
because of the nature of his calling, and for many rea- 
sons, one of the principal ones being that "'once a gam- 
bler always a gambler" is true of him until his life has 
been wrecked, or possibly destroyed, by his own hand. 

The fascinations of the game are such that fewer gam- 
blers, perhaps, reform than those addicted to any other 
vice. Supposing him to be an expert, it is "easy money." 
As it comes easy, it goes in the same manner, and, always 
being full-handed, he never considers the consequences 
to those he has robbed. He is not troubled with any 
conscientious scruples. He has the means to procure all 
the pleasures of life, and is satisfied to be a lawbreaker. 
He is in sympathy with all other forms of lawlessness 
and gives his suflfrage to such men for office as will give 
him the most protection. 



AND Pool of Blood 275 

Nashville is loaded with that class, and if they are not 
personally interested in other forms of lawlessness, such 
as the liquor business, they are most generally in close 
association with those who are. They control a large 
portion of the voters by a lavish use of money, and, with 
their twin brothers, hold the balance of power. 

It would be safe to say that one-third of the votes 
polled at the city elections in Nashville are dominated 
and controlled by the gamblers and their convenient 
allies. But we have referred as yet only to the profes- 
sional gamblers, who do nothing else. 

There are others, such as in Wall Street are termed 
"stock gamblers," those who buy and sell thousands of 
bushels of corn and wheat that has never been grown, 
hundreds of bales of cotton, the seed for which has never 
been planted. By dishonest manipulation, they form com- 
binations to control the market and manufacture mil- 
lionaires and paupers, and hundreds of other cases, all 
being of the same character, such as race horse gam- 
bling, where any horse may win that the gamblers want 
to win ; boosting property by false statements ; also stocks 
and bonds, all of which is gambling and likewise stealing. 

Numbers of our leading citizens, and often church 
members, engage in these forms of gambling and steal- 
ing, while crying loudly against all kinds of lawlessness. 
These, by their influence, weaken the cause of law and 
justice proportionately more than the professional gam- 
blers, because of their prominence. 

I heard an incident some years ago of a very promi- 
nent preacher, who was well known and, because of his 
wealth and social position, was possessed of vast influ- 
ence and prestige. He gambled a little sometimes — 
^'thought it was just speculation," I presume. He had 
got hold of some stock that had proved worthless, by 



276 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

accident, but he was not the man to lose on stocks if 
they were valueless, so he placed this stock in the hands 
of a broker and, we suppose, as he was a big preacher, 
asked the Lord's advice, but the devil must have given 
it, from the manner in which he disposed of it. A young 
man, having saved some money that he wanted to invest 
safely, and knowing this man as a very wise financier, 
and having the utmost faith in his integrity, being an 
influential minister in his denomination, applied to him 
for advice as to a safe manner of investing it, and what 
did this old hypocrite do? He recommended that old 
worthless stock of his and sent the trusting young man 
to his broker, in, the meantime posting the broker by 
telephone before he got there, and through him robbed 
the boy of his money, and a few years later went shout- 
ing into either Glory or torment. Further than this, this 
deponent saith not. 

Of course, this is a safe way of gambling, or robbing 
- — either word will express it. That is, it's safe in Nash- 
ville at this time. We have no court here to convict 
high-class robbers. The object seems to be to acquit 
them. It would never do to disturb the big fellows. 
They might not like it. They might even go so far as 
to give their vote and influence to some honest fool and 
take our court away from us. And then, doesn't the 
Bible say, let the tares alone until the Lord sends His 
angels to root them out? It certainly could not be ex- 
pected of us to do it. Indeed, thrice blessed is the man 
who does not expect much of us; he shall not be disap- 
pointed. 

The gambling hells in Nashville — tolerated, protected, 
and in many cases patronized by "our" chosen officials — 
would not be tolerated in a respectable community of 
monkeys. 



AND Pool of Blood 377 

These games of chance are so garbed outwardly that 
they present irresistible attractions to the uninitiated. He 
is led by the booster to believe that the gambling hell is 
a veritable gold mine, vv^here he has only to walk in and 
gather up the nuggets, which he has about one chance to 
do where he has a hundred to be blown away by a cyclone. 

Again, there is a world of gambling for church chari- 
ties. An entertainment is gotten up, various devices are 
planned to make money to get cushioned pews, or to 
supply a new pulpit for the church. The grab-bag, the 
lottery, all considered innocent and perfectly justifiable 
because of their object. Brother and sister in the church, 
did you ever stop to think that you are sowing the seeds 
of the miost dangerous character of tares.; that you are 
creating a desire for one of the most damnable curses 
that ever afflicted a human being — a habit, when once 
formed, as hard to extricate himself from as from the 
tentacles of an octopus? Do you realize that you are 
robbing your church of its spiritual power and planting 
the seeds of commercialism in its stead to get new and 
elegant pews for its occupants ? Did it ever occur to you 
that you are starting hundreds on the downward road 
to degradation and ruin, on which are found thieves, 
murderers, desperadoes, and all sorts of human brutes, 
maniacs, misanthropists and oft, at the end, suicides? 
Think but a moment and you will agree with me that all 
manner of games of chance, for amusement or for phil- 
anthropic reasons, are but wicket-gates to the sorrows of 
this life and the tortures of the damned in the world to 
come. '^ -"^ 

Gambling, being based on a principle of wrong, be- 
comes the motive power which destroys every noble as- 
piration, vitiates every honorable aim, dragging every 
lofty purpose in slime and corruption, inflaming every 



278 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

evil passion and seating vice on the pedestal of Virtue, 
creates a corrupt taste in its devotees and robs them of 
all desire for rational pleasures, uncivilizes men and in- 
stills within them a spirit of barbarism; it deadens every 
religious sentiment and stifles the voice of conscience. 

In finance and character he is a bankrupt, and, divested 
of moral principle and self-respect, he becomes a debased 
and friendless vagabond. 



AND Pool of Blood 279 



COMMERCIALISM— A MENACE TO GOOD 
GOVERNMENT. 

Among the classes of so-called good people who stand 
in the way of the promotion of good civil government, 
there are none perhaps more prominent than the promi- 
nent business man, granting the honorable exceptions. 
The prominent business man is an all-around policy man 
when it comes to politics ; as the old German saloonkeeper 
said, he votes "vor hees beesness." To get the business 
man's vote, mix business with politics. The poor fellow 
doesn't know that he is only bartering his suffrage for 
so much business, instead of money or whiskey, as does 
the thug or negro. He would prefer that the other side 
should win, but he cannot afford to consider principles 
involved. He must first consider the possible effect on 
his business. We have in mind Mr. T. F. Bonner, who 
has been quite prominent as a leader in the various move- 
ments for the promotion of the principles of morality in 
civil government and the advancement of civic righteous- 
ness, who, in 1909, supported Hillary E. Howse for 
mayor, notwithstanding the fact that Howse was re- 
garded as an immoral roue, whose character alone was 
sufficient to disqualify him for mayor of a great city by 
robbing the office of its proper prestige, giving as hi'^ 
reason that Howse was a heavy patron of his business, 
a cash man and a good business man, while knowing, as 
everybody else knew, that all of his former political ven- 
tures had succeeded in consequence of the individual 
support of the lawless element and that they were stand- 



280 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

ing solidly for him at that time, and Mr. Bonner, being 
a very intelligent gentleman, also must have known that 
the said lawless element make no mistakes. They are 
the smartest voters we have and instructed by the shrewd- 
est politicians we have, always unite on a man who will 
take care of their interests. 

There is no better way to determine the character of 
a candidate than to watch how the said element votes. 
Well, when Mr. Howse made the second race, Mr. Bon- 
ner opposed him in the race against Dr. Gillespie. 
Whether Mr. Howse had withdrawn his patronage or 
not, we are not advised, but we do know that his moral 
character was as good in 191 1 as it was in 1909, and, to 
thinking people, the prospect was just as good for him 
to faithfully discharge his duty. Well, we had thrown 
the mantle of charity over Mr. Bonner and were indulg- 
ing the hope that he had been convinced of his error and 
would make no more mistakes in the future, when, in 
the recent city primary, we find him, for reasons of con- 
sanguinity, supporting Longhurst for sheriff, whom 
Howse claims to have elected and who was opposing a 
sheriff (whatever may have been his motive) who was 
making it warm for the violators of the law which Mr. 
Bonner so earnestly advocates. Now, would Mr. Howse 
back a man for sheriff unless he was reasonably sure 
that he would not antagonize his policies? 

It is no part of my purpose to assail the character of 
any individual, only as it may enter into his public acts 
or be necessary to establish the reason for the deplorable 
conditions existing, and possibly emphasize the need of 
a drastic remedy, and it shall be our aim to deal in the 
truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Now, 
if this character of men of intelligence allow such con- 
ditions to determine their suffrage, what shall we expect 



AND Pool of Blood 281 

of the plebeian hosts who look to them for an example? 
When all men get to consider the candidates' compe- 
tency and principles and these only, then and not until 
then will we have the principles of morality, virtue and 
justice paramount in civil government, and any vote con- 
trary to that is and must be detrimental to the attainment 
of that end, and cause angels to shed tears of sorrow and 
shame. 

We will venture the statement that three- fourths of 
the wholesale merchants in Nashville are influenced in 
casting their votes by motives of policy, and that they 
have the influence, if rightly directed with their votes, to 
elect whomsoever they choose to office. As evidence, they 
did elect a very weak member to the office of mayor in 
the person of T. O. Morris, and if they could do that, 
why couldn't they elect a mayor who would give dignity 
to the office and remove at least that much of the stigma 
from Nashville and Tennessee? There isn't a doubt but 
they could, and it is equally plain that they will not as 
long as policy and commercialism stand in their estima- 
tion paramount to patriotism. 

During the campaign for mayor in 1909, a majority of 
the wholesale merchants were arrayed in solid phalanx 
for Howse and incessantly besieged Major Stahlman to 
keep the Banner oiit of the fight, he being determinedly 
opposed to him, and they convinced him that it would be 
a losing fight, and for that reason alone the Banner 
took no part. In the meantime, some merchants who had 
the courage and backbone to stand for principle and bid 
the dollar god of commercialism to "get behind them," 
constituted a committee of five to solicit the aid of the 
Banner. This committee was headed by Joel O. Cheek, 
who, on consultation with his colleagues, thought that a 
prominent minister on the committee would add mate- 



283 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

rially to its influence. Accordingly, Dr. Anderson, then 
pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, was chosen and 
the matter laid before him. He gave the assurance of 
his full sympathy, but declined to accept on the grounds 
that his congregation was divided and he couldn't take 
any part lest he jeopardize the harmony and possibly cre- 
ate a division in his church. Shades of Moses! One 
part of the church for right and the other for wrong, 
and the preacher afraid to stand out boldly, openly and 
'fearlessly for the right; but that is a rich church and I 
suppose he thought it was easier for a camel to go 
through the eye of a needle than for those rich members 
to enter the kingdom of heaven — anyway he didn't want 
to make the matter any worse for them. The church pays 
a big salary and, as our information goes, is practically 
run as Mr. "Mannie" Shwab would run it, because Mr. 
Shwab (a wholesale whiskey dealer) holds the jobs of 
some of the leading members in his pocket. If that is 
not true, what is that church doing that Mr. Shwab could 
reasonably object to? Hammer sin and iniquity all you 
like, so you don't say or do anything that will really hurt 
the liquor business. The most prominent leader, whom it 
is in the power of Mr. Shwab to depose, is Mr. Leland 
Hume, since Mr. Shwab owns a large interest in the 
Cumberland Telephone Company. Does Mr. Hume know 
that and govern himself accordingly? Let us see if 
he is conducting himself as becomes a high official in 
a church that should occupy the highest plane of influ- 
ence in the cause of civic righteousness, but is shorn of 
its strength because of the unworthiness of a number of 
its leading members, or is he merely a milksop and tool 
for his brainy boss? 

In the Fifty-sixth General Assembly, when the amend- 
ment to the four-mile law, otherwise known as the State- 



AND Pool of Blood 283 

wide bill, was pending, with both sides contending for 
every inch of ground and every other interest made sub- 
servient to that — in other words, where God and the 
devil were fighting for supremacy in the state — the two 
committees, desiring as far as possible to obtain a knowl- 
edge of public sentiment touching the bill, invited a dis- 
cussion of its merits and demerits before a joint session 
and in pubHc. Speakers were selected on both sides, 
Bishop Hoss leading the fight in favor of the bill. Promi- 
nent speakers were on hand from every section of the 
state ; especially did they come thick and fast from Mem- 
phis, Nashville and Chattanooga. Not with a view of 
getting the representatives of these cities to vote right — 
for that they have never done and never will. This joint 
committee assembled in the House of Representatives at 
night. The public, having been invited, was there and 
packed the House almost to the point of suffocation. On 
this auspicious occasion, when the fate of the bill seemed 
to hang in the balance, depending on the action of the 
committee ; when Tennessee was to go on record as fa- 
voring or opposing the domination of the state by the 
liquor and corporation bosses— at this crucial moment 
where is Mr. Leland Hume found? Following the in- 
structions of his pastor or following the instructions of 
Mr. Shwab — the chief promoter of the liquor interests 
and maker and dispenser of Old Cascade Whiskey? 

The wTiter was present on this occasion, with thousands 
of others, and witnessed the spectacle of a leading officer 
in the First Presbyterian Church, as well as a leading 
officer in the Cumberland Telephone Company— which 
company is largely dominated and controlled by Mr. 
Shwab— Mr. Leland Hume, standing on his feet as a 
speaker, no one knowing what side he represented until 
he spoke. At this moment there seemed to be a hush of 



284 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

expectation, with all eyes turned on Mr. Hume, who 
seemed choking and trembling as if making a desperate 
effort to begin. His words, quoted verbatim et literatim, 
were as follows: 

"Ladies and gentlemen, and gentlemen of the commit- 
tee, there are worse things in Nashville than the liquor 
business." *'Yes," said Bishop Hoss, "the Cumberland 
Telephone Company." The audience took it up and 
shouted until he was forced to sit down, all seeming to 
realize that if there was anything worse than the liquor 
business, it was that old incubus, the Cumberland Tele- 
phone Company. As he took his seat, Bishop Hoss pro- 
pounded the question : "Mr. Hume, isn't it true that the 
Cumberland Telephone Company will not employ men 
that drink or smoke cigarettes?" Keeping his seat he 
answered that the bishop was correct. Mr. Hume is not 
the only member of this big church, composed of big men 
and operated on business principles which are not con- 
ducive to the promotion of the principles of civic right- 
eousness, i ■'^<. 

There is Mr. Joseph Thompson, who is a very influen- 
tial leader and also president of the Nashville Trust Com- 
pany ; Mr. Will Nelson, the owner of the Greenbrier Dis- 
tillery, noted for its famous brand Old Robertson County 
Whiskey, being associated with him in the capacity of 
vice president. The writer knows that institution col- 
lectively is a very liberal contributor to all campaigns in 
the interest of the liquor traffic, which of course means 
the perpetuation of lawlessness. The liberal element find 
great solace in the fact that this institution can always 
be relied upon for both boodle and votes. The church 
also finds comfort in the knowledge that they receive from 
t-he same source liberal contributions, even though it may 
be stained to some extent by contact with the other fund. 



AND Pool of Blood 285 

it is still able to hide a multitude of sins. So the church 
and saloon are both satisfied, inasmuch as both drink milk 
from the same old cow and then "praise God from whom 
all blessings flow." 



THERE IS ANOTHER AND A BROTHER. 

There is another Christian brother who serves his God 
as well as the other. This particular brother is so power- 
ful in the Christian, commercial and financial world, that 
the writer pauses to ask himself, dare I to give the facts 
relative to this powerful man? Yes, I dare to tell the 
truth, even about the L. & N. Railroad, Pierpont Morgan, 
or President Taft, if necessary. The man of whom I 
speak is Mr. Percy Warner, president of the Nashville 
Railway and Light Company, principal owner of the Tu- 
lane Hotel, including the palatial bar, which, under his 
able management was moved from the former secluded 
position to a most conspicuous position in front, where it 
stands as a monument to the business sagacity and enter- 
prise of this wonderful man. This Tulane Hotel bar — 
or Warner bar — is none the less a flagrant violator of 
statute law than any other bar, and it must be borne in 
mind that these things could not exist only for the suf- 
frage of the people that license them, and that if property 
owners refused to rent their property to be used for such 
unlawful purposes, a large number would be compelled 
to close anyway, and that leads us to wonder how many 
men who own such places and let them out for such im- 
moral purposes, consider the moral side and give their 
votes to cut off their revenue. However, Mr. Warner 
may think that as this particular saloon, with its elegant 
equipments, is in such close proximity to the magnificent 



286 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

Warner Auditorium, which is a part of the splendid new 
Young Woman's Christian Association Building, clothes 
this particular bar with the elements of respectability. 
The writer begs to differ and classifies this dive with all 
others, purely and simply an emissary of the devil (with 
more power for evil than the low dive because of its 
falsely termed character of respectability), a disgrace to 
the city and a reflection on the Young Woman's Chris- 
tian Association, that the same owner — or part owner of 
the Tulane saloon — should be allowed to have a part of 
their beautiful and exemplary building set aside and dedi- 
cated as the Warner Auditorium. Even though Mr. 
Warner did contribute very largely to its construction 
and occupies the high position as president of the Street 
Railway and Light Company, and is a most conspicuous 
and active member of the most aristocratic church con- 
gregation perhaps in the city, of which the distinguished 
divine, James L Vance, is pastor. It must also be remem- 
bered, for it is a matter of record, that Mr. Warner is 
also owner, and that means controller, of certain other 
property here that is not being used to the glory of God 
or good government, by a long shot. 

Mr. Warner also owns, on Broadway, adjacent to the 
Terminal Station on the corner of Tenth avenue, some 
property in which is located the notorious and filthy Royal 
Cafe, operated by a Greek by the name of Tom Valeska. 
This dive is a menace to any community; in fact, this 
entire block, barring a few barber shops, possibly, is a 
seething mass of vice and corruption and, by way of 
sticking to my title, I might add, is a veritable Pond of 
Liquor and Pool of Blood, a portion of which yields our 
distinguished citizen — Mr. Warner — a handsome revenue. 
We are again wondering if Mr. Warner would be will- 
ing to take a stranger, who might be visiting in the city, 



AND Pool of Blood SS'V 

in his auto and show him through his various possessions. 

And now, Dr. Vance, a word with you, since I have 
been so plain spoken about some of your members. Why 
have I written these things? Not for maUce, spite or 
pique, but because milder language and soothing sermons 
on glittering generalities have failed to minimize the evils 
that are on the increase in this fair city. They are as 
water poured on a duck's back, merely a ''casting of 
pearls before swine." Neither has denunciation nor im- 
position of penalties on low-grade criminals accomplished 
anything, nor can it as long as the "upper ten,'' who 
occupy the uppermost seats in the synagogues, are tem- 
porized with and toadied to. The Lord is no respecter 
of persons, and neither should we be. The city is fast 
becoming a seething den of iniquity, and, since those in 
position and authority decline the work, our purpose is to 
try to apply the best remedy for crime — which is public- 
ity — and place the responsibility where it rightly belongs, 
on the man who hides behind the altar on Sunday to do 
penance for the sins of the week. Believing that one 
such man will do more harm — because of his prominence 
— than a dozen keepers of low dives, neither will high 
sounding resolutions by prominent committees avail as 
long as prominent citizens and church officials either 
stand idly by or rent their property for immoral pur- 
poses or give their votes and influence or contribute cam- 
paign funds to the immoral side, thereby becoming "par- 
ticeps criminis" to the crimes due to the dominance of 
that element, for it cannot be denied that these men, by 
their vote and influence, could change the whole com- 
plexion of our city government if they had the will. 

You may be curious to know why I have selected out 
your members when like conditions probably exist in all 
big aristocratic churches. First, because all former shots 



288 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 

have missed the mark because they were aimed too low ; 
also because the information concerning the men referred 
to was conveniently accessible and available ; also because 
your church and yourself, its pastor, have reached the 
acme of prominence and influence. Further, because my 
information is that you w^ere made cognizant of some of 
those conditions at a meeting over which you presided, 
for the purpose of electing a deacon in your church. 
The purpose of this book is to expose the deplorable con- 
ditions existing here and the impotence of those in au- 
thority to deal with them, and if one book is not suflicient 
to do that we will try to produce another. For, until 
men come to regard principle and duty paramount to 
personal .gain and ambition, anarchy must occupy the 
throne and dominate the control of this land of the 
"brave" and home of the free. Now, doctor, what will 
you do about it? Of you and your church, because of 
the prominent position and intellectual prestige which 
you have, God and the lovers of good government have 
the right to expect much. They desire to credit you with 
the belief that a princely salary largely composed of dirty 
dollars is not sufficient to sway you from the path of duty 
when your attention is called to the matter, and we cer- 
tainly claim that it is the duty of all ministers to disci- 
pline their members for such glaring offences against 
law, order and morality, even to using the "lash of small 
cords to drive these iniquitous money changers from the 
Temple," who on due admonition refuse to repent, realiz- 
ing that God is both able and willing to take care of all 
of his faithful servants, though his entire congregation 
leave him. Thus religion will not be a mere show bubble, 
with pride as her handmaid and selfishness as her leader. 



AND Pool of Blood 289 

"No matter, sir, what you profess, 
We care not for your preaching 
If you see toiling ones oppressed 
By constant over-reaching: 

"However loud you sing and pray. 
Or shout your word of warning. 
The honest poor you grind each day 
Will meet your call with scorning. 

''Although you read your bible well. 

And teach a class on Sunday, 
Your worth a man can only tell 
By dealing with you Monday. 

"Then sing and shout and teach; 
'Tis vain your pious labor. 
So long as you shall overreach 
In dealing with your neighbor. 

"The golden rule of which you speak 
Upon the Sabbath day, sir. 
Just please to practice through the week ; 
Then you may preach and pray, sir. 

"And we will listen — gladly, too — 

To each kind invitation. 
And possibly accept from you 
A prayer for our salvation." 

— Selected. 



19 



290 Tennessee's Pond of Liquor 



VALEDICTORY. 

At the beginning of my book, I told something of the 
contents. It is my purpose now to briefly sum up. The 
majority of our people here — and many of them good 
people, too — seem to be firmly imbued with the idea that 
the greatest crime that can be committed is to lack the 
ability to conceal crime ; that the old aphorism — that the 
concealer is as bad as the thief — is but a rdic of barbarism 
as practiced in the dark ages, and that ability to conceal 
is an accomplishment of a high order and the surest pass- 
port to favor in good society. 

As evidence, take our Industrial Bureau, who are un- 
questionably good people, as well as very high authority 
on moral ethics. They can tell more good things about 
Nashville than the minds of ordinary mortals can con- 
ceive of or comprehend, yet you never hear them say a 
word about the crimes daily enacted here, or read any- 
thing in print authorized by them. They know how to 
conceal, and, under the new regime, are very properly 
immune from criticism. Well, I must confess that, even 
though not fully sustained by logic, it is one very adroit 
way of reasoning, for if you can keep crime well con- 
cealed it becomes unnecessary to eradicate it, and it is 
only in certain cases that it is even necessary to conceal it. 
To illustrate, if those premeditating murder will only ally 
themselves with the regulars and be regular in all things, 
and be sure they don't kill a regular, they will find "the 
strong arm of the law" ready to be thrown around them 
and they are as safe as though they had taken the trouble 



AND Pool of Blood 291 

to conceal it. There are many material benefits to be 
derived by concealing crime, among them the spirit of im- 
migration to our city would be dampened and its growth 
retarded if it were not concealed. Our people would be 
timid about being out late at night and the theaters and 
churches would suffer in consequence; our business in- 
terests would almost suffer paralysis, because people 
would fear to come to town and take the chance of catch- 
ing a stray bullet, or being buncoed. Then our courts 
and their affairs would be embarrassed, because they 
would be forced to violate their oaths or cause the crim- 
inals some trouble, and, strange as it may seem, with all 
these advantages and many more too numerous to men- 
tion, derived from the concealment of crime, the news- 
papers will sometimes get hold of it and publish it to 
the world, which clearly proves they are lacking in tact 
and the ability to judge of what is best for the city. 

Further, if crime is not concealed, people will hesitate 
to send their children to school and that would indeed be 
a damper. By all means keep crime under cover. But I 
hear some one say, ''Why, Mr. Johns, you are publishing 
the things to the world yourself." I answer that I had 
to do it or abandon my subject. The good about Nash- 
ville has all been published, and so often, if I were to 
publish it again, I would have to risk being denounced 
everywhere as a plagiarist, and there is no danger of that 
on the other hand. You see, I was between the devil and 
two deep seas: either be a plagiarist, abandon my subject, 
or confine myself mainly to the bad. 

Thus, kind reader, I bid vou mv *'adios." 



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OCT 7 1812 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




014 649 618 





